Premiere: Te Uru Aute, a short film by Seb Charles

Join us for the premiere of Te Uru Aute, a short film by Seb Charles celebrating the apprenticeship of the same name between Nikau Hindin (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) and Rongomai Grbic-Hoskins (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngātiwai).

Nikau says, 'I have been working closely with my teina Rongomai since February 2022, teaching her the full process of making aute (Māori bark cloth)—from harvesting, scraping, beating, and fermenting to re-beating, and eventually adornment with earth pigments. We called this apprenticeship programme Te Uru Aute, referring to a grove of aute plants.'

Nikau and Rongomai are also excited to launch a new pukapuka about Te Uru Aute designed by Shaun Naufahu and Giordano Zatta. The book includes photographs by Seb Charles, documenting the apprenticeship, including wānanga aute at Motukaraka; film photographs by Rongomai; a beautiful account of Te Uru Aute; and an interview between Nikau and Rongomai.

There will be a Q&A session following the film screening and a limited number of books will be available for purchase.