Tupaia's Endeavour - The Feature Film

Tahitian priest and navigator Tupaia acted as translator between Captain Cook’s crew and Māori, after a bloody first encounter at Poverty Bay/Tūranganui-a-Kiwa in 1769. Fijian-born filmmaker Lala Rolls and artist Michel Tuffery bonded over Captain Cook book The Trial of the Cannibal Dog. Rolls' feature Tupaia's Endeavour (also a 2017 Māori Television series) is the culmination of an eight-year exploration of the Pasifika pioneer. Actor Kirk Torrance, professor Paul Tapsell and Tuffery (a descendant of Tupaia) travel to Tahiti and England, and reveal new information about Tupaia's role in Aotearoa's history.

I’ve always had an alert eye for the untold story...New Zealand history is dominated by the European view. Cook was on the cusp of the enlightenment in Europe, but Tupaia was a man of the enlightenment in the Pacific.

– Director Lala Rolls on telling the story of Tahitian High Priest and navigator Tupaia, The Gisborne Herald 26 July 2017

Key Cast & Crew

Riki Gooch

Composer

Kirk Torrance

As: Tupaia, Presenter

Lala Rolls

Editor, Director

Michel Tuffery

Actor, Presenter

Stephen Gallagher

Composer

Paul Sutorius

Additional Editing