I am Waru

MEDIA RELEASE: AUGUST 28

I AM WARU

A single dad whose “normal” childhood was underlined by a dark underbelly of violence is determined to create a new normal for his children – and for all children.

Josh Wharehinga’s early life was tainted by violence at the hands of the man meant to protect him, his step-dad. But even from a young age, he was determined to change the narrative, not just for himself but for his children.

“When teachers asked what I wanted to be, I always answered ‘A dad’”, remembers Josh, a Gisborne father of six. “And I wanted to be different from the male role models I’d had.”

This drive to be a different, better, male role-model was reignited when Josh watched the feature film Waru, a story about eight women grappling to cope with the death of a child at the hands of family violence: “I saw more and more of myself in there. I could have easily been Waru.”

For while Josh and his siblings enjoyed normal childhood activities such as rugby and swimming at the beach, they also endured the crippling fear of living with violence. “I would get so apprehensive that I wouldn’t want to do anything. I used to come down the hallway and hug the wall of where the old man was to try to get past without him seeing me or hearing me.”

As a father, Josh decided that the cycle of abuse would end with him.

I Am Waru was produced and directed by Caravan Car Park Entertainment. It is one of the Someday Stories series of sustainability-focused short films by emerging young film-makers from Aotearoa New Zealand. You can watch it online@ www.facebook.com/theoutlookforsomeday/videos/

Someday Stories are produced by Connected Media with support from NZ On Air, The Body Shop, Te Māngai Pāho and the New Zealand Film Commission in association with Stuff, Māori Television On Demand, The Wireless, and the coconet.tv.

I Am Waru

Rating: PG

Genre: Documentary

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