A chance discovery of photographs provides a rare visual insight into 19th century NZ history, forges a link between Maori in the present with Tupuna in the past, but also provokes a storm of protest over cultural differences of ownership.
I am the River is a film about a unique set of 700 glass plate photos recently uncovered which document Maori life in the 19th century. The public auction of the photos was aborted due to protest action by descendants of the people in the photos. This film intertwines two narratives - the story of the photographs as told by the Pakeha and the story of the subjects as told by the Maori. As the historical and cultural points of view are explored, the conflicting accounts slowly culminate in the clash of cultures that occurred at the auction.—Anonymous