'A rich world': Marlon Williams brings healing te reo Māori journey to cinemas

Tāmaki Makaurau's Civic Theatre was filled with tears, laughter and a standing ovation on Tuesday night as crowds gathered for the world premiere of Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds.

The documentary, directed by Ursula Grace Williams, follows Marlon Williams (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāi Tai) over four years as he reconnects with his whakapapa, embraces te reo Māori and writes and records his first full album in te reo, Te Whare Tīwekaweka.

Ahead of the screening, Williams told RNZ, seeing his journey come to life on the big screen was "humbling".

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"It's bizarre in some sense for there to be a beginning and an end to this, because it's been my whole life for the past few years.

"I'll be sitting out there watching it with everyone. It's pretty unreal, it's gonna be buzzy."

Spanning international tours, quiet writing sessions, wānanga with Kommi (aka Kommi Tamati-Elliffe) and visits to his tūrangawaewae in Tōrere and Te Wai Pounamu, Ngā Ao E Rua is both moving and inspiring.

"I have been to a lot of places," Williams said, reflecting on his trips home to his whenua.

"So, you know, I had to humble myself to go down there and be that vulnerable. But the manaakitanga, and the sense of rightness coming back to me, it was a lot... it was beautiful."

At the heart of the film is the power and beauty of te reo Māori - not just as a language, but as an anchor for identity, expression, and intergenerational healing.

Williams expresses the power of the language, saying it unlocked a part of him he wished he had sooner.

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster for sure,' Williams said, hoping that through his own journey, he can inspire others to do the same.

"It's there by whakapapa.

"If you've got that spark, if you're feeling nervous about it, kia kaha. Push through those nerves. That desire and that curiosity is the thing that will see you all the way through."

As he reflected on his haerenga, his message to his younger self was: "don't be scared".

"You love language, and you love to express. So just hold onto that. Let that guide you through, teao Māori, it's a rich world."

For director Ursula Grace Williams, the film became its own journey of rediscovery.

While documenting Williams' path, she reflected on her own relationship with cultural identity - particularly the loss of the Sāmoan language in her own whānau.

"It was really interesting reflecting on what was lost in my own journey," she said.

"I don't have fa'asāmoa or the Samoan language, unfortunately - colonisation and assimilation are part of that.

"But seeing Marlon be brave enough to do this on another stage has been super inspiring."

Describing the four-year production as "spontaneous, delicious and meaningful," she said the film is more than just storytelling.

"It's about the protests that we make in the everyday. It's about capturing something fleeting. The moments we share, the lessons we learn, the spaces in between. It's a document of time spent, of people met, of lives undefined for a while. And in that way, it is held more than just a story for people to observe."

Grace Williams balances filmmaking with raising three tamariki and said the contrast between her every day and the whirlwind of touring with Williams made the project all the more rich.

"It has been wild, like my day to day, when you're thinking about pre-production and research and things like that, it's mundane in lots of ways, in a beautiful everyday way.

"I'm a mum of three, I pack lunch boxes, I'm hustling or I'm applying for funding or exercising or whatever. Travelling with Marlon is like the complete opposite to that. Because you're on this rollercoaster of being pulled in different directions."

But this rollercoaster ride has been something she hopes is just the beginning.

"I'm forever grateful for everyone that surrounds me in the creative process - it's been amazing, to be honest."

Central to Williams' reo journey is Te Whare Tīwekaweka co-writer Kommi (Kāi Tahu, TeĀtiawa), who helped guide him through grammar, dialect and poetic expression with te reo.

They are also a poet, activist and kaiako - lecturing in Te Reo Māori and Māori and Indigenous Studies.

Reflecting on the four-year journey, they said the process was equally personal for them.

"It's been a type of therapy for me actually," they said.

"In the past I was mostly a closed-off person, perhaps. So, I think it has been the hardest part for me, relating to these songs and co-writing them with Marlon."

They said each waiata stands alone as their own story.

"And I may have differing versions of my story compared to Marlon about those kaupapa. But the journey has been nothing but tinorawe."

Within the film, they don't shy away from the realities of language loss, saying to Williams "Te reo Māori takes one generation to lose and three to regain it," - a stark reminder of the impact colonisation and assimilation have had on the Māori language and culture in Aotearoa.

"For myself, coming from a whānau where my mother didn't speak te reo Māori, and her mother - my grandmother - spoke little bits but didn't pass that on… to see that come back to life within my whānau and then relating that to music - that's huge," Kommi said.

'TeWhareTīwekaweka' has already debuted at number one on both the Aotearoa and te reo Māori charts, which Kommi said is "huge".

"I know it's influencing a whole reaka (generation) of taiohi and rangatahi today. That's the aim and I feel good about that," Kommi said.

"You can express yourself in te reo Māori."

Ngā Ao e Rua - Two Worlds opens in cinemas nationwide on 1 May 2025, just in time for NZ Music Month.