Tōku Waiata My Song - Short Film / Stop Motion Animation

Star is a bird of many names. Kārearea, kāiaia, the New Zealand falcon.
Aotearoa was once a nation of manu. Winged creatures reigned: bats, bugs and birds. Whilst flightless creatures crawled the land, the skies were ruled by aerial predators, some of these birds almost mythical in size.
With the arrival of humans came great change. Today, many manu linger only in legend. Yet a few birds of prey remain, including the feisty kārearea.
The New Zealand falcon didn’t survive these changing years unscathed. Kārearea are even rarer than the kiwi, but they won’t go down without a fight.
Through both traditional filmmaking and stop-motion animation, Tōku Waiata My Song soars Aotearoa's skies alongside Star, an advocacy falcon at Wingspan Birds of Prey Centre, Rotorua. Here, a rather different conservation practice is used to conserve New Zealand's only falcon; the ancient art of falconry.