Poi E will debut as part of the NZ International Film Festival.
It's a song turned into a movie and the world premiere of Poi E: The Story of Our Song will open the NZ International Film Festival on July 14 in Auckland. The documentary about the Pātea Māori Club's beloved 80s pop hit will premiere at the Civic Theatre then, following NZIFF festival screenings, will open in New Zealand cinemas on August 11. The film about the song that spent three decades in the charts is written and directed by Tearepa Kahi (Mt Zion). Pātea Māori Club's 'Poi E' was the first Māori pop song, sitting at the top of the music charts for four weeks.
NZIFF Director Bill Gosden said, "Kahi's documentary explores the many tributaries that flowed into the mashup of pop music, traditional waiata and bop that first took New Zealand by storm in 1984. The film, told largely in Dalvanius' own words, is brimful of music and frank and funny testimony from numerous participants in the song's richly peopled history."
The NZIFF takes in 13 towns and cities around the country. The trailer promises to share the stories behind the epic hit dubbed 'the people's anthem'. The full NZIFF Auckland programme will be available from Tuesday 21 June and tickets are on sale from Friday 24 June, while the Wellington programme will be available from Friday 24 June and tickets on sale from Thursday 30 June.