Te Wao Nui

Kauri are dying. A traditional Māori healer has one last chance to save an entire forest, one tree at a time. 

We need your help to tell this urgent indigenous story.

A devastating disease threatens to destroy Aotearoa’s last remaining Kauri trees. Standing in the way of losing these prehistoric giants forever is a Māori healer. Tohe Ashby is looking for answers held within the ancient knowledge of the first nations of Aotearoa - mātauranga Māori. Discover the roots of indigenous medicine in a final bid to save the last of these great trees. E ara! Ka tangi te Kauri.

Stands of Kauri trees used to cover 1.2 million hectares of the land in Aotearoa. Now, less than 1% of those trees remain.

And the last of these giants now face their biggest threat yet: Kauri dieback. There is so far no known cure for Kauri dieback disease, and the disease kills most – if not all – the Kauri it infects.

In honour of these beautiful trees, we’re making the short documentary, Te Wao Nui, directed by Ngariki Ngatae and produced by Karen Sidney. We are grateful to announce that it has been selected this year by short documentary initiative Loading Docs.

Te Wao Nui is a story about indigenous knowledge, about the last of our true elders of this land, the ancient Kauri. It's about our relationship to our trees, our plants and our great forests.

Now more than ever, as we see the Amazon Forest burning, raging fires across Australia and up to a million ancient Olive trees in Greece and Italy die of disease: the world is searching for solutions. It is the Indigenous Peoples of the world who have knowledge handed down throughout generations about Kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and how to bring our planet back from the brink of destruction. Te Wao Nui is an internationally relevant story about an Indigenous solution to Kauri dieback disease affecting our ancient treasures in Aotearoa.

But we need your help to make this happen. For this campaign our goal is to raise at least $2,500. This money will go towards paying for filming equipment, paying our talented crew, music, some post-production and offering something to the communities who are so kindly sharing their stories with us and the world.

If you can help us reach our minimum crowdfunding target of $2,500, Loading Docs will provide additional funding and cover some post-production costs. But if we don’t make the target – we won’t unlock the additional funding and unfortunately this documentary won’t be made.

We would love and appreciate any support you are able to offer us, and we are really looking forward to sharing this journey with you.

Loading Docs is an award-winning short documentary initiative to develop New Zealand filmmaking talent. Loading Docs is funded by NZ On Air with support from the New Zealand Film Commission and Te Māngai Pāho.

About the filmmakers

Ngariki Ngatae - Director

Ngāti Uri, Ngāti Ārera, Ngāti Rupe, Ngāti ‘Akatauira

Ngariki is an emerging screenwriter, director and indigenous storyteller with experience across the arts and within various aspects of the film industry. She draws upon her Polynesian Māori and mixed whakapapa and is heavily influenced by the narratives, ceremonies, healing, rituals and connections to spirit that are born from her indigenous roots.

Karen Sidney - Producer

Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine

Karen Sidney is an award-winning writer with broad experience across film and television as a producer, writer, director and researcher with an emphasis on Maori film and television. She cut her teeth in film with the likes of Barry Barclay, Merata Mita and Don Selwyn and has received accolades for her work including the Te Haa Maori Writers Committee Award for Children’s writing; the inaugral Alanis Ombomsawin Award (Dreamspeakers Festival, Canada) as writer of drama ‘Kahu and Maia’; and Best of the Festival (ImagineNative Festival,Canada) as Writer/Producer of ‘Mataora’ from the Aroha Maori Drama series.

After gaining a BA double major in Maori and Anthropology, she entered the NZ Screen Industries in the mid 1980's, mainly contracting in Production, Scriptwriting and Research. She also Produced both Doco and Drama for self and co-owned Production companies including the 6-part Aroha Maori drama series, where she also wrote the episode: ‘Mataora’.

She has also been a representative on Māori and other screen industry committees: Te Manu Aute, Te Ara Whakaata, Nga Aho Whakaari, and the inaugral NZ Writers Foundation (now Script to Screen). She has attended international film, television and arts festivals and marketplaces representing her productions.

Now based in Northland, she has most recently worked as Creative Manager for Creative Northland, produced and directed an ongoing doco series and installation on wahine Māori artists, and was General Manager of Whangarei’s regional TV Station Channel North.

Key members of our production team

Fred Renata Ngāpuhi - Director of Photography

Don McKenzie - Research and Biosecurity Advisor

Danica Waiti Te Rārawa, Ngāti Pikiao, Taranaki - Impact Producer

Anna Rasmussen Ngāti  Ārera, Ngāti 'Akatauira, Ngāti Tāne, Ngāti Vara - Line Producer

Thanks for your support!