Meet Munch Jr.

A Samoan animator fulfills the aspirations of his autistic son by bringing a cartoon creation to life.

Sixteen-year-old Nikau Cowley wants to create his own real life hand puppet. He's a keen artist and animator. He's also on the Autism spectrum with Asperger's Syndrome. Autism affects 1 in every 100 people in New Zealand.

Nikau's dad - Ali Cowley - is helping him to achieve his goal and bring the puppet alive from a drawing on a page to a real life hand puppet. Ali is an experienced animator, illustrator and character designer, who has worked on such projects as 'Bro'Town'. He's his son's number one supporter when it comes to his art.

Meet Munch Jr. is an observational look at the journey both father and son take to realise Nikau's dreams. The documentary is ultimately about a father's love for his son and his desire to help Nikau pursue his passion and prepare for life as he gets older.

As a first time director, Ali would also like to bring awareness to Autism from a Polynesian father's perspective.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We are so grateful to be selected for Loaded Docs 2019 but we need your help so we can make our documentary.

Loading Docs is supported by NZ On Air, with additional support from the New Zealand Film Commission and Te M?ngai P?ho, who all want to see this short documentary get made. However, we need to meet our funding target of $2,500 to unlock the $5,500 from Loading Docs.

Every little bit will help this project get made so whether its $5 or $500, we greatly appreciate any support you can give.

HOW WILL YOUR DONATIONS BE USED?
Making a documentary is not cheap. We need all the money we can get to pay for the cameraman, the camera gear, sound gear and for the animation. All money raised through Boosted will go towards making the best short documentary we can.

WHERE CAN I SEE THE SHORT DOCUMENTARY?
The great thing about Loading Docs is that our documentary will be made available free online. We believe this story will help to break down barriers about those who see the world differently from the general population. It's also a great conversation piece about how autism affects over 40,000 New Zealanders.

PLEASE SUPPORT US AND DONATE NOW
As soon as we reach our goal, filming can begin so please donate now.

OUR TEAM

Ali Cowley - Director 

Ali (Samoan) is an Animation Director with an eye on Film Direction.

He has worked in the industry for over 20 years and has directed music videos and short animated films for corporate videos, app content and specialises in illustration, storyboarding, production design, 2D animation and branding. He was an animation director on prime time animated show Bro'Town for four seasons and is currently working as an Art Tutor at Media Design School in the Gaming Department and is on the Pasifika Committee called "Vaega" as a Mentor to the Polynesian students. At his work, he's currently researching ways to engage his Polynesian Community with new media as a career choice. He also successfully curated an art exhibition featuring Pasifika/Maori MDS Alumni in his home town of Mangere.

He was a participant in Script to Screen's South Shorts Screenwriting initiative and has written a short film script which he is hoping to make in the near future. Meet Munch Jnr is his first short documentary.

Ali and his Fanau are part of the Pasifika Autism Support Group P.A.S.G.

Sandra Kailahi - Producer

Sandra (Tongan/Kiwi) is passionate about telling Pacific stories.

She produced her first feature documentary film, For My Father's Kingdom which had its World Premiere at the 2019 Berlinale NATIVe Film Festival. The first film she produced was Vela Manusaute's short film,  The Messiah in 2018 through her company, Kingston Productions. The New Zealand Film Commission Fresh Short was selected for ImagineNATIVE in Toronto, Sk�bmagovat Film Festival in Finland, LA Skins in Los Angeles and will screen at Maoriland Film Festival in 2019.

Sandra is an experienced journalist in mainstream and Pacific media. She is a published author and playwright and is now co-writing and producing a new web series, Brutal Lives with Vela Manusaute.