BIG HAIR, DON’T CARE
Season One | Moana Nui
What began as a performance installation presented first in Hilo, Hawai’i, and then later in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa, in 2017, soon evolved away from the live – and in the digital. The documentary series, Big Hair, Don’t Care, was created. Featuring multiple award winning stage and screen artists – wāhine Māori, va’ine Pasifika and wāhine tauiwi.
Told across three episodes, Big Hair, Don’t Care features Riwia Brown (Ngāti Porou, Taranaki Whānui), Dianna Fuemana (Mutalau, Niue; Pago Pago, American Samoa), Sarita Keo Kossamak So (Khmer, Aotearoa) and Moana Ete (Ngāti Wheke, Ngāti Whatua Ōrakei & Lalomalava, Savai’i, Sāmoa). The series is created and directed by Mīria George (Ngāti Kearoa, Ngāti Tuarā, Te Arawa; Te Tawera, Ngāti Awa; Tumutevarovaro; Enuamanu; Kūki ‘Āirani).
The series was crafted to share kōrero of equity and visibility for wāhine Māori, va’ine Pasifika and wāhine tauiwi while addressing systemic issues throughout the stage and screen industry. Big Hair, Don’t Care contributes to documenting the creative work of women across the stage and screen landscape.
Filmed in Te Whanganui-a-Tara in February 2020, Big Hair, Don’t Care was shot by award winning Director of Photography Elise Lanigan (fire in the water, fire in the sky). Production featured an all wāhine Māori camera crew including Pikihuia Haenga, Jamie Berry and Waimahana Paku.
