Ngā Riwha a Tama (Tama's Scars)

I’ve looked up to my uncle and aunties since they first taught me how to swear. This film shares that mutual feeling of looking up to an uncle or an aunty who let you get away with drinking fizzies and eating lollies. Ngā Riwha a Tama tells a story of a young scruffy boy who loves hunting with the best Hunter on the East Coast, his Uncle Brown. Kei te haere māua ki te whakangau Tia.

Ngā Riwha a Tama is about a young Māori boy who admires and looks up to his Uncle Brown. Uncle Brown is your classic Hati Nati uncle who is the best hunter on the entire East Coast and loves a cold Steinlager. Throughout this film Uncle Brown takes Tama on a hunting trip as we watch Uncle Browns every move, from the way he walks into the bush to the way his eye’s stares into the darkness, yet, Tama only sees his Uncle Brown as a hero, a rangatira as he admires his every move watching blindly as his uncle Brown displays signs of depression and toxic masculinity. 

WHY IS THIS STORY IMPORTANT

We need to talk about suicide and depression. 

For Māori men, suicide is an epidemic with more than double the rates of any other group in Aotearoa. This has intergenerational impacts as rangatahi Māori lose our role models and follow them down the same path. As a Māori community and within our whānau we don’t talk about this openly, instead, it is often brushed off and pushed aside allowing it to continue to impact our people. 

In making Ngā Riwha a Tama I want to open a kōrero for our whānau and particularly Māori boys and men. We don’t need to be staunch all the time - we can be mean hunters and mean open about how we’re doing. 

I NEED YOUR HELP

I need your help to raise an additional $6,000! 

This money would help me make my dreams come true, as this film is the first step of my lifetime goal of not only making the East Coast that much better but also changing the world. 

More specifically this money will go towards feeding the cast and crew as well as buying props and renting gear as this short film has many fantasy scenes to really explore the creativeness within the mind of Tama and the way he perceives his Uncle. 

Seeing this film made professionally with your help will mean the absolute world to me as the message behind this film is very dear to my heart. With this film, I hope to start a conversation for Māori to look into what we’re doing to our tamariki and make a positive change. 

ABOUT ME

Kia ora, ko Kararaina Ngatai-Melbourne ahau, he uri tēnei no Ngati Porou me Ngai Tuhoe. I was born and bred on the East Coast of New Zealand in a small town called Te Araroa, here my love for my whānau, my hapu, my iwi and my people grew. With a natural sense of creativity comes the urge to tell my people’s stories with a creative way of storytelling that is relevant to this generation. 

MY TEAM

Ngā Riwha a Tama is part of the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Project (NPIP). NPIP was developed by Māoriland during Lockdown to support rangatahi filmmakers to produce their first professional short films. The first eight in NPIP are Aree Kapa, Oriwa Hakaraia, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Kararaina Ngatai-Melbourne, Te Waiarangi Ratana, Bailey Poching, Tiana Trego Hall and Te Mahara Tamehana. All eight filmmakers have personal creative goals to become feature filmmakers and share Indigenous stories on the big screen. Under NPIP, this talented rangatahi have received one-on-one mentorship from industry experts from across the Indigenous filmmaking sector, craft development opportunities, workshops, and industry placements. With your help, NPIP will grow Aotearoa's film industry with;

• Eight new short films from rangatahi Māori directors
• 24 rangatahi receiving on set training
• Two rangatahi Producers (Māori & Sāmoan)
• Two reo Māori films
• Pilot for Māori web-series (Manu Masters)
• Proof of concept for rangatahi Māori feature film (Ruarangi)

Nga mihi nui ki a koutou!!