Ever the Land

Ever The Land explores the bond between people and their land through a landmark architectural undertaking by one of New Zealand’s most passionately independent Māori tribes, Ngāi Tūhoe.

For the past 150 years, the relationship between Tūhoe and the New Zealand government has been defined by longstanding grievances over severe colonisation experiences such as illegal land confiscations and the devastating consequences of scorched earth policies. Then, in 2014 history was made: Tūhoe’s ancestral homelands were returned, the New Zealand government gave an official apology and Tūhoe built the first ever “Living Building” in NZ, conceived as a testament to their values and vision of self-governance.

The new building is the binding character in this observational documentary that immerses us in a culture that is tightly woven into its land and an architecture that is defined by its integrity to it.