Reo Māori feature film ‘Tama Kaiātea’ released for Mahuru Māori
E whakahīhī ana a Māoriland ki te tuku i a Tama Kaiātea, he kiriata paki waituhi kua whakamāorihia mō Mahuru Māori.
He kiriata pakiwaituhi rongonui i Wīwī i karangahia ko Astro Kid. Ko te tuahangata o te kiriata nei, ko tētahi tama, ko Wiremu tōna ingoa. Ka wehe a Wiremu me ōna mātua i te pahūtanga o tō rātou waka ātea, ā, ka tau atu ia ki tētahi aorangi whanokē. Nōna e tatari ana kia whakaorangia ia, ka tiakina ia e tētahi karehiko whakaora, ko Paki. I roto anō i tā rāua tūhura haere i tō rāua kāinga hou, ka tūtakina he hoa hou, ka noho mōrearea hoki. He kiriata pūmahara, pārekareka hoki. He rawe te kiriata mō ngā tamariki nohinohi, heoi ka rata mai te whānau katoa.
He mea whakaputa a Tama Kaiātea nā Māoriland Productions i tō rātou taupuni mahi, He Paki Taketake, i Ōtaki. He mea whakamāori ngā kōrero e ētahi kaiako, mātanga reo hoki, arā, a Clayton Cook rātou ko Te Kiwa Goddard, ko Hēni Jacob. Nā Libby Hakaraia te kiriata i hanga, ā, nā Tainui Stephens ngā reo whakaari i tautohu, i whakahaere hoki.
E mea ana a Tainui Stephens, nā te angitu o Lion King Reo Māori i kitea ai te hiahia mō ngā hōtaka reo Māori – mō ngā tamariki me ngā pakeke hoki.
I mārama pai a Stephens ki ngā reo i hiahiatia mō Tama Kaiātea.
“He mea nui kia tau ngā kaiwhakaari i roto i te reo Māori, ā, kia pai tā rātou urupare ki ngā tohutohu. Me rongo hoki i roto anō i ia reo te wairua o te kiripuaki.”
He tira rangatahi e whakahaere ana i te taupuni mahi, He Paki Taketake, i whakangungua e Māoriland Charitable Trust hei wāhanga o tā rātou rautaki whanake rangatahi. Ko te aronga ia, kia whakangungua ngā taiohi Māori e uru ai rātou ki ngā ahumahi kiriata, waihanga matihiko hoki. Ko Maaka Gair-Houia te pūkenga oro, ā, ko Ōriwia Hakaraia te kaiāwhina hanga hōtaka.
I tautokona te hanga o te kiriata nei e te putea motuhake nā Te Māngai Pāho. Ko te arotahi a He Paki Taketake, ko te hanga anō i ngā kiriata ki roto i te reo mā te whakamahinga o ngā pūkenga reo Māori o te hapori. Ko Ōtaki te kāinga o Te Wānanga o Raukawa, te Whare Wānanga Māori tuatahi. He hua te Wānanga nei o te whakakitenga i whakaūngia e ngā kaumātua o Āti Awa, o Raukawa, o Toa Rangatira (e mōhiotia nei ko te Kotahitanga o ART) hei whakarauora anō i te reo i waenga i ō rātou iwi.
Ahakoa i kitea te nuinga o ngā kaiwhakaari reo i Ōtaki, ko te tuahangata a Wiremu ka whakaarihia mai e William Lockwood (Ngāti Pikiao), e 9 tau te pakeke, nō Te Kura Tuatahi o Rotorua. Ko Te Puaheiri Snowden (Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Kuta-Patukeha) ka whakaari i te pāpā o Wiremu. Ka noho ia ki Waikato, ko ia hoki te kaiwhakapāho o te kōnae ipurangi, a Taringa,
Nō Ōtaki anō ērā atu reo katoa, ina koa ko Te Ākauroa Jacob e whakaari mai ana i te karehiko pūkenga nui, a Paki, ā, ko Ariah Kapa ka whakaari i te māmā o Wiremu. Nā ngā ringa puoro, kaiwhakatairanga reo Māori hoki, ā Angie Stretch rāua ko Turanga Mahutonga i whakarite ngā waiata reo Māori ka rangona. E whakahīhī ana a He Paki Taketake ki te whakamahi anō i te taupānga a VoiceQ nā Kiwa Digital mō te hanganga reo Māori nei. Kua hohou te rongo o te taupānga nei i te ao, ā, mā te taupānga nei e whakamāorihia ngā kōrero mā te ipurangi e wātea mai ai i taua wā tonu kia mau ngā reo o ngā kaiwhakaari i te taupuni.
E mea ana a Tainui Stephens ka nui kē atu ngā mahi ka puta i te taupuni mahi a He paki Taketake.
“Ka kitea rawatia te rerehua o te tuakiri iwi, ina kounga ana te reo Māori i roto i ngā mahi pūrākau. Nā Tama Kaiātea i whakauru atu tētahi āhuatanga Māori hākoakoa ki tētahi kiriata e ū taketake ai ngā tamariki nohinohi. He kōrero pārekareka hoki mō te hunga e kaingākau ana ki te reo Māori.”
For interviews or further information contact:
Jess Berghan
[email protected]
+021 135 2036
Māoriland is proud to announce the release of Tama Kaiātea, an animated feature film that’s been reversioned into the Māori language in time for Mahuru Māori.
Originally a popular French animated feature film called Astro Kid, the hero of Tama Kaiātea is a boy called Wiremu. Wiremu gets separated from his parents when their space ship is destroyed, and he ends up on a strange planet. While he awaits rescue he is protected by his survival robot Paki. Together they encounter dangers and make friendships as they explore their new home. This is a thoughtful and fun-filled movie. It’s an engaging film for small children, but will charm the whole family.
Tama Kaiātea was produced by Māoriland Productions at their He Paki Taketake studio in Ōtaki. The script was translated into Māori by local teachers and linguists Clayton Cook, Te Kiwa Goddard and Hēni Jacob. Libby Hakaraia produced the film, and Tainui Stephens cast and directed the voice actors.
Tainui Stephens says the recent success of Lion King Reo Māori shows a demand for screen stories in the Maori language – for children as much as for adults.
Stephens was clear about the types of voices the team wanted for Tama Kaiātea.
“The actors needed to feel comfortable in the Maori language and be able to respond to direction.The sound of each individual voice also had to evoke the personality of the character.”
He Paki Taketake studios are staffed by rangatahi who have been trained by the Māoriland Charitable Trust as part of its rangatahi development strategy. The aim is to upskill young Māori and get them entry into the film and digital creative industries. The sound engineer for the film is Maaka Gair-Houia, and the production assistant is Ōriwa Hakaraia.
The production of Tama Kaiātea was supported with Innovation Funding from Te Mangai Pāho. The focus of He Paki Taketake is to reversion films in te reo by using the Māori language skills of the local community. Ōtaki is the home of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, NZ’s first Māori university. The Wānanga is a result of a long term vision set in place by the elders of the Āti Awa, Raukawa and Toa Rangatira iwi (known as the ART Confederation) to revitalise te reo Māori amongst their people.
Although most of the voice actors for the film were found in Ōtaki, the hero Wiremu is performed by 9 year old William Lockwood (Ngāti Pikiao) a student at Rotorua Primary School. Te Puaheiri Snowden (Te Māhurehure, Ngāti Kuta-Patukeha) plays Wiremu’s father. He lives in the Waikato and is a host for the popular reo Māori podcast Taringa.
Ōtaki provided all the other voices including Te Ākauroa Jacob who plays the super capable robot Paki, and Ariah Kapa who plays Wiremu’s Mum. Local musicians and staunch reo advocates Angie Stretch and Turanga Mahutonga provided the reo Māori waiata that feature in the soundtrack.
He Paki Taketake was proud to once again make use of Kiwa Digital’s VoiceQ software for the reversioning into the Māori language. This internationally acclaimed software package enables translations to be done on-line and immediately available in-studio for the voice artist to record.
Tainui Stephens says to expect many more projects to come out of He Paki Taketake studios.
“When the Māori language is used well in any form of storytelling, an attractive and welcoming indigenous personality shines through. Tama Kaiātea has given a playful Māori character to a film that will keep the little ones glued to the screen. It’s a fun filled entertaining story for any lovers of te reo Māori”.