Aotearoa Story

Kia ora, 

Thank you for your interest in supporting our film project. I'm thrilled to be delving into these significant chapters of our history. By portraying the lives of the people who lived through this era, we hope to provide our tamariki with a multifaceted understanding of the past. 

All the characters in the film will be played by the children at Gilberthorpe Primary which has a decile 2 rating. It’s exciting to be able to provide an opportunity for students who wouldn’t normally have these kinds of experiences. Any leftover funds will go towards starting a media programme at Gilberthorpe which can continue into the future.

The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra has agreed to work alongside us to develop the film’s soundtrack. This is a partnership that also has the potential to carry on if the Gilberthorpe media team make another film next year. 

Currently, we have $7000 to cover several aspects of the production, such as a Māori cultural advisor, props, set, costumes, editor Tyler King, a sound technician, lighting designer, director of photography, a green screen, music rights and food for the children.

However, if our Boosted campaign succeeds, we can expand our resources to include the following:

• Hiring a local production company to handle lighting, sound, and camera operations.
• Purchasing stock footage of New Zealand to replace the green screen.
• Hiring a kapa haka tutor.
• Working with a Te Reo expert. 
• Taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments).
• Engaging a local expert in moko to take care of the makeup.
• Hiring a costume designer.
• Tyler King from Whitebait T.V. is on board as our editor, and the larger our budget, the more hours we can spend with him in the editing booth. This is crucial for producing a high-quality film, particularly with the amount of background work required for green screen.
• Additionally, we would love to hire a designer for the moa foot and waka replica.
• As well as a music director to collaborate with the tamariki and hopefully the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra on the film's soundtrack.

I'm confident that this project will be a fun and engaging way to teach our tamariki about the story of this motu, our ancestors' relationships and inspire them to imagine a possible future. They'll also gain valuable knowledge about the art of filmmaking!

With your support, we hope to create an educational resource that can benefit other schools and kura.

Thank you for considering our cause.

Ngā mihi,

Will