SYNOPSIS

In a serene autumn fishing camp a young Māori chief crafts a dogskin cloak as a gift for his only child. His wife laughs as she tends to their son's hair. Seeing an eel in his trap, the son rushes towards the river. Suddenly, the piercing cry of a pouākai breaks the happy scene. As others flee for shelter, the chief runs towards his son. But he is too late. He can only watch helplessly as the powerful POUĀKAI snatches his son away to its mountain nest. Overwhelmed with grief, the mother and the chief both know their son is dead. The chief decides he must retrieve his son’s body. He arms himself with a spear and climbs a mountain to the pouākai's nest. There he witnesses the bird scavenging his son's remains. Horror grips him. The chief nearly gives up, convinced he can't defeat the pouākai. A singing KEA teases the raptor off its nest. This inspires the chief to mimic the kea's song and draw the pouākai towards his hiding place, where he is able to spear it and force it to fly away. The chief carries his son’s body back to the camp. With tears of gratitude, the mother drapes their son's bloodied body in the dogskin cloak as the anxious father looks to the sky.

GÉNÉRIQUE

• Director

  Libby Hakaraia

• Production

  Tainui Stephens

• Referent

  Madeleine de Young

• Sales

  Madeleine de Young

• Script

  Ricardo Giraldo

• Cast / With

  Roy Iro

  Retitia Raureti

• Camera

  Ryan Alexander Lloyd

• Film score composer

  Nikau Wi Neera