Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara
- Screening Dates: 19th June, 6pm
- Starring: Henry De Jong, Lewis De Jong, Ethan Trembath, Turanga Morgan-Edmonds, Niel De Jong, Jette De Jong
- Directed by: Kent Belcher
- Running time: 100 mins
- Rating: E
- Language: English & te reo Māori
Synopsis:
Although Alien Weaponry’s success is clearly huge, instead what is most impressive about them is their commitment to keeping te reo Māori and Māori culture alive. Their music is written and performed in te reo Māori and tells the stories of tangata whenua (people of the land), the band members’ ancestors, and denounces colonisation.One of the best things about Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara is that even though it hits the usual marks of a music documentary (touring, disputes, highs and lows), it doesn’t have an end. These young men are still rising, still growing a bigger and bigger audience, and still championing our indigenous culture to the world – and when you measure their audience, it’s clear that the world doesn’t want them to stop. — Huia Haupapa
DOCUMENTARY: WFS Puanga Matariki film night special event
This documentary takes you to the start of the band’s journey from its formation in 2010 by Waipu brothers Henry De Jong and his brother Lewis, then just ten and eight years old respectively. We follow the band from their first performances at Smokefree Rockquest, to European metal festivals, through to their international headlining concerts, jam-packed with metalheads. These tours are littered with the occasional amusing brotherly spat, but also with random outbursts of “Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi”, joined by anyone who knows the words.