“What does it mean to be Māori today? How are traditional Māori values reconciled with the demands of the modern world? And how do urban-based whānau maintain links with their tribal areas?
These and other important issues are raised in the two-part Inside New Zealand documentary, Whānau, which heralds the return of the premiere documentary series.
Inside New Zealand: Whānau gets under the skin of several Māori families who have welcomed babies at the beginning of the new millennium.
Through this documentary the families share their hopes, fears and expectations for their children and discuss how they look forward to building positive futures for the generations to come.
In the first part of Inside New Zealand: Whānau we meet Brandi and Maui Hudson.
As well as preparing for their first baby, they are about to become parents to ten teenage boys as their role as house parents at a Māori boarding school. How will they cope with eleven new arrivals?
We also meet Mereana and Joe, a bi-cultural couple whose relationship has posed some challenges along the way but one thing they are united on is that the future of their children is linked with the well-being of their whole whānau, iwi and hapu.
The family recently moved from Auckland to Mereana’s ancestral home in Kennedy Bay to provide a better environment for their children and to help rebuild the small community.
Join these and other parents in the first part of a two-part documentary about individuals who are making positive change and progress for the good of their families in the new millennium on Inside New Zealand: Whānau.” - (from the TV3 Publicity Press Kit)