Maumahara follows a young Māori boy and his father on his recycling truck job. Photo / LK Creative
Maumahara follows a young Māori boy and his father on his recycling truck job. Photo / LK Creative
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
A rangatahi Māori filmmaker and soon-to-be father explores te ao Māori and fatherhood through his second short film Maumahara, a personal story honouring te reo Māori.
"Maumahara for me is about te reo Māori, but also fatherhood. I wanted to make a film that draws inspiration from my life," says director Kaitiaki Rodger (Tainui).
Set across a single night in South Auckland, Maumahara follows a young Māori boy named Kauri (Te Rongopai Curran-Tukiwaho) and his father Brendon (Tainui Tukiwaho) on his recycling truck job.
Upon finding out that Kauri's mother plans to move to Ōtepoti with Kauri, leaving Brendon behind, he spends the evening singing, laughing and teaching Kauri to hold on to his reo Māori.
Brendan is played by Tainui Tukiwaho and Kauri is played by Te Rongopai Tukiwaho. Photo / LK Creative
"Maumahara is inspired by the relationship between me and my father, who some may call my stepfather, but I see him as my true father. So that relationship is the heart of Maumahara," Rodger says.
Rodger, now 26, had lost touch with his stepfather when he was 18 due to his parent's separation.
Last year the prospective filmmaker's short film Matua was nominated at the Wairoa Māori Film Festival.
Matua was based on Rodger's biological father who he has not met but whom he received a letter from at age 17 requesting he take a DNA test to prove their relationship, which it did.
"I don't know if insult is the right word but it was a little bit heartbreaking to get that from someone I've never met but it is also the reason why I exist," Rodger says.
Matua covered the story of a Māori lecturer returning home for his mother's tangi, where he meets his biological father for the first time.
"Matua was about that ultimate fantasy because I didn't see that as a reality.
''I wanted to create something to express that sense of absence," says Rodger.
Kaitiaki Rodger. Photo / Luke Thornborough
Rodger also points out that just like the separation between he and his stepfather, Maumahara also expresses an impending absence as the father anticipates a separation between himself and his son.
With Rodger expecting his first child soon, his next film plans to draw upon becoming a father.
"I feel like my films have been therapeutic in dealing with that trauma around my paternal relationships," Rodger says.
As for his feelings about becoming a father outside of mahi, Rodger expresses both excitement and anxiety.
"This is a new chapter of my life. I don't know how I'm going to be in that role.
''Am I going to take on some of the qualities of my stepfather?
''Are there certain qualities of my biological father that I'm not aware of? There's always a sense of trying to break the cycle and be better."
Someday Stories, in association with Glow House Ltd, released the short film online at the start of Te Wiki o te reo Māori. It can be viewed on their social channels.
