Kōpū

28/06/2025

🎥 DocEdge 2025 - who else is keen?

Yup, it’s been a hot minute since we last showed up here. If you’ve been following us, by now you know taking space on the gram isn’t really our jam & that’s okay.

Yet, we show up when it matters.

While the festival has already started we’d like to shine a special light on a movie: “Before the Moon Falls” - and encourage our Auckland audience to watch it.

🤔 Why this doco?

Aside from the fact it sounds like an intriguing story, you will be supporting the 9 years of work Kimberlee Bassford, the film director, a mother & a friend, has poured into bringing this story to your eyes.

We met Kimberlee about a year ago & to say her personal journey through the making of this film was inspiring, is an understatement. To us, she is the definition of resilience. Between the grit, the passion, the professionalism, we’ve been astounded with her commitment & her storytelling skills to showcase the intricacies of mental health.

So, who’s up for it??

✨ I - will be there 😉 come & join me for the next date in AKL:

Date: Wed 9th July
Location: Bridgeway cinema
Time: 6pm
The movie: Before the Moon falls
Followed by Q&A with film director.

07/01/2025

Kia ora - Hello online world, it has been a while.

We don't usually mingle with politics, yet it is increasingly impossible to hold our words when women & Indigenous rights are blatantly baffled.

Given the diverse fabric of our organisation, given our values and aspirations, we wish to highlight this wise statement from a fellow filmmaker - Golshifteh Farahani With only a few hours left to submit your perspective on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, we encourage you to rethink what future you envision for Aotearoa New Zealand.

For those convinced the bill will serve our nation, we ask you to ponder the following:
- Has this bill been drafted through genuine consultation with Māori stakeholders & transparent legislative processes?
- Do the reactions triggered by this bill showcase unity?
- Would you qualify the pathway this bill has taken as an inclusive decision-making process?
- Who will benefit the most from this change?
- Has diminishing the rights of Indigenous populations ever led to thriving nations & successful democracies?
- What is this bill trying to distract you from?

The Treaty is fundamentally based on a partnership between the Crown and Māori, and central to this partnership is the concept of mutual consultation, cooperation, and consent, especially on matters that affect Māori rights and interests.

Check out ' interview on .nz and decide for yourself if the amendments proposed to this partnership sit right with you.

For a thorough understanding of the controversies surrounding this bill, we invite you to read/listen to the content created by who has done an astonishing job at deconstructing all aspects of the text.

For those needing help submitting, check out with her tutorial video or all the resources created by

"It is only when we let fear take over and when we do not speak up that we let people down" Kahurangi Tariana Turia 🖤 1h30 to submit!

13/07/2023

From one star to others: Mānawatia a Matariki — Happy Māori New Year! ✨

Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki.
Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi.
Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau.

Celebrate the rising of Matariki.
Celebrate the rising of the lord of the sky.
Celebrate the rising of the New Year.

While kōpū (Venus as the morning star) is not part of Matariki, we hope this year, you will dare to learn more about its meaning.

Et une Bonne Fête du 14 Juillet 🇫🇷 (Happy Bastille Day) à toute notre audience française 😉

On our documentary journey, we were told there was no coincidence but providence. It is particularly special to celebrate today the French Revolution against the economic power of the time (1789 - aka the Monarchy) on the same day Matariki is celebrated in Aotearoa New Zealand - a fairly new proclaimed bank holiday representing a revolution on its own.

21/06/2023

Opening up a new chapter.

Envision a world where the time women spend raising children is seen as equally valuable as building a business.

Introducing you to kōpū: Unconventional Motherhood Wisdom. A documentary exploring the rich diversity of motherhood and the far-reaching skills that the experience yields. A purpose-driven production company using storytelling to advocate for equity, fostering multi-ethnic and pangender solidarity.

Ko te whaea te takere o te waka | Mothers are the hull of the waka (ship)

Kōpū, the Māori word for womb, represents the great life-giving power that mothers possess. Another Māori term for the uterus, te whare tangata, literally translates to “the house of the people”--the original origin of us all. Kōpū is also the Māori word for Venus as the morning star - a persistent feminine symbol in many Western cultures but also, as the brightest object in the sky, a guiding star in several mythologies, religions and provincial cultures.

Our eponymous film channels the wisdom that accompanies this power and examines its influence on different spheres of life. In recent years, mothers have been thrust to the sideline of our culture as they care for their children. Yet care is the life-giving force that sustains health and well-being, binding together societies and ecologies. While motherhood archetypes have gently evolved, a constant remains: the perceptions bound to the role. Our film reexamines and reinvigorates our understanding of motherhood for a new generation of parents juggling career and parenthood, to help us re-learn the truth that mothers learn a valuable range of skills through the experience of child-rearing.

Read the rest of our synopsis by visiting our website: www.mykopu.com
Sign up for our newsletter to follow us on our documentary production journey.

A documentary & social movement exploring the far-reaching skills that the motherhood experience yields. We believe that by breaking the stigma associated with motherhood, there lies the potential to reach gender equity once and for all.