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The Stolen Children of Aotearoa tells the story of children taken by Social Welfare in New Zealand and abused in state care, with Māori children particularly targeted for removal. Through personal accounts, it reveals the lasting trauma of state intervention, showing how it shaped their lives and spiraled across generations, leaving a legacy of alienation and resistance.
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Director Biography - Julian ArahangaI am a writer/producer/director working to create indigenous stories for a global audience. Based in Wellington, I am the owner and one of the key creatives at AWA Films, one of the production companies in New Zealand that is challenging the way we tell stories.
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Director Statement
The Stolen Children of Aotearoa is the accumulation of more than a decade of working in the state care system in New Zealand. I have worked in the prisons making the music series Songs from the Inside, but this journey working with survivors of state abuse and torture has been the most difficult story I have had to tell. The subject matter of the film covers some very deep and personal trauma, and originally we were going to just slam the audience with a no-holds-barred, in-your-face truth fest. We showed this cut to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Carol Dysinger, and she pointed out it was too much. We’d never heard of empathy fatigue, but the film was unwatchable by most. She also questioned the audience and pleaded that we don’t forget international audiences. With these thoughts in mind, we went about deconstructing and then reconstructing film. There is a fine line to walk with holding the truth of the survivors in an honest way and not losing the audience. It’s a line that you dance up against and delicately maneuver to find a balance in the storytelling flow.
