Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara

Whangarei Film Society present a special screening for the Puanga Matariki Festival.

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: M Language: English & Te Reo Māori

Door sales only. $10 WFS members. Non-members pay $5 extra as an Associate Membership fee, per film. All welcome. Cash only please – no Eftpos available.

Synopsis: This documentary takes you to the start of the band’s journey from its formation in 2010 by Waipū brothers Henry De Jong and his brother Lewis, then just 10 and 8 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. 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

More about Whangarei Film Society: Whangarei Film Society holds regular screenings. Dates vary due to venue availability, but at each event there will be two film screenings at 6:00pm and 8:00pm. To find out which films will be screening each session, please visit https://whangareifilmsociety.org/