The Silence is Over - Taonga Pūoro Treasured Sounds

Television (Full Length) – 2008

This documentary explores the renaissance of taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments) and celebrates the legacies of late musicians Richard Nunns and Hirini Melbourne. There's a table discussion between musicians and composers Nunns, Gillian Whitehead, Gareth Farr, Moana Maniapoto, Aroha Yates-Smith and jazz performer Jeff Henderson. All incorporate taonga pūoro in their art. Melbourne's whānau remember him and Nunns "playing to the whales"' at Onetahua (Farewell Spit), and Horomona Horo reflects on his musical apprenticeship. The documentary screened on arts show Artsville.

I've noticed a lot of people getting into taonga pūoro now and that kōauau and pūrerehua is often defining a 'Māori moment' in a film or something, and I'm finding that a bit tedious. 'We're having a spooky moment here...'
– Performer Moana Maniapoto on the overuse of some taonga pūoro in popular culture