The Birth of Whakatāne

WELLINGTON, Today: Te Aro-based creative agency Wrestler has helped bring to life a new VR project that lets users experience Whakatāne’s founding ancestral story, by virtually taking them on a journey to Aotearoa aboard one of the great voyaging waka.

Launched at a special event for local rangatahi and the Whakatāne community, the Mataatua Virtual Reality project combines new technologies with traditional Māori oral culture to create a modern and immersive storytelling experience.  

Officially selected for the 2020 ImagiNATIVE festival, the world’s largest presenter of Indigenous screen content, the Mataatua VR project launched at a free event last Thursday, where the makers behind the project talked through how it was made and visitors were able to experience Mataatua VR for themselves, along with sharing other work from ImagiNATIVE.

“The Mataatua VR experience will remain permanently in Whakatāne.”

The project was first conceived in 2016 and was brought to life by a collaboration between local iwi – Ngāti Awa, Whakatāne educational institution Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, and Wrestler – a creative agency which specialises in bringing purpose-driven creativity to life through human-centred storytelling and technical innovation.

Funding came from the NZ Film Commission.

Kat Lintott (Ngāi Tahu)/Wrestler co-founder/co-director said: “This project was born out of the desire to truly explore the convergence of new technology and the tradition of oral storytelling in Māori culture.

“We wanted to juxtapose traditional oral storytelling with one of the most modern ways, which led to this immersive VR experience.

The Mataatua VR experience will remain permanently in Whakatāne.

CREDITS

Producer/Co-Director (Wrestler): Kat Lintott:
Co-Director, Concept Artist, Talent: Tamati Kawha
Producer, Ngāti Awa/Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi rep: Prof Te Kani Kingi:
Historian: Malcolm Mulholland
Writer and Talent: Joe Harawira:
Writer: Nancy Brunning
Lead VR Developer & Photogrammetry: Jeff Jones
VR Developer: Arapaoa Moffatt
VR Developer: Mohsin Ali
Sound: Chris Ward