IN 1883 A MAORI PROPHET WARNED THAT A DEMON WAS ON ITS WAY. IN 2021 IT IS HERE.
HE ARA ANŌ
THERE IS ANOTHER WAY
SYNOPSIS
A STORY OF DRUG ADDICTION, MAORI WAHINE,
AND THE POWER OF RECOVERY.
“There is a demon on its way. It is a demon that will arrive stealthily and deviously; you will not even see it coming. So when you see the effect in the eyes of your mokopuna, do not punish them, instead clothe them with a korowai of love.”
These words, phophesised in 1883, could easily have been written about Jesse’s and Rochelle’s story. Close sisters, they share their moving and at times painful journey, opening up about lost childhoods, marital abuse, destructive behaviour and finally the road to recovery. Their story is all too familiar to Dame Naida Glavish DNZM, who uncovers long-forgotten truths Aotearoa has buried - revealing how a disconnection with wairua (spirituality) creates fertile ground for addiction to take hold of young wāhine such as Jesse and Rochelle.
QUOTES
“My kids keep me sober, my husband, my relationships that I have now keep me wanting to keep sober.”
Rochelle van Niekerk
“I still battle with my demons. I still have massive amounts of insecurities and anxieties that take me down, but that monster is gone, like I don’t feel that bottomless pit of nothing anymore.”
Jesse Tahau
“There's not a family in New Zealand that can say they are not affected by some sort of addiction.”
Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish DNZM JP
CREW
VITA REYNOLDS
Born and raised in central Auckland, Vita discovered her passion for film through the varied beauty and contrast she discovered in her global travels.
Her experiences meeting people across a vast range of countries allowed her to understand a global human connection, and how across languages and cultures we can share the joy in both our differences and similarities.
In her body of work as a filmmaker she employs techniques in camera, lighting and audio as her universal language to translate these stories into film and ultimately connect people where distance and difference fail to.
KELLY WEAVER
Kelly Weaver was born and raised in Christchurch and has called Auckland home since 2009. He has been passionate about film and television since childhood, with a particular interest in editing and the power it has bringing stories to life.
Whilst working various customer service jobs, he kept his creative juices flowing through his hobby of cosplay and dabbling in a bit of writing and video editing.
In 2020 he seized the opportunity to turn his passion into a future career by studying at South Seas Film & Television School, specialising in Post-production.
DANIEL NATHAN KAPOKI
Dan first found his passion for film through documenting skateboarding on his SonyVX1000 that goes by MiniDV tape & learning a process for capturing footage & editing that footage.
Dan is always striving to be better at what he does with every experience & who is willing to take the time to learn techniques in film & outside of film.
He has always been drawn to anything creative which has opened a path into film so in 2020, Dan decided to study film full time at South Seas Film & Television School on, specialising in camera lighting & audio.
BEN HOWARD
Born in Palmerston North, bred in Auckland, and developed overseas. In 2019 after years travelling the world and scampering up the corporate ladder to nowhere,
Ben Howard decided to follow his true calling. Ben sees himself as an artist first and foremost and has chosen film as his preferred medium due its emotive possibilities.
With a deep-set self-belief backed up by a solid work ethic, Ben is willing to take on any challenge that will move him forward creatively and bring his ideas and visions to the screen.
