http://www.maoritelevision.com/

Am finding all the Pakeha angst over the endlessly dreary and white TVNZ 7 ending. Maori TV play the best docos and movies on NZ TV, and they have for years now. With shows like ‘Songs from the Inside’ they show they ‘get’ what TV can accomplish, whilst telling stories of NZ today. And the news that they are about to screen 6 classic NZ plays shows we have no need to worry about the end of TVNZ 7. Maori TV rocks, try them on for size.

EPISODE GUIDE

•Strange Resting Places by Paolo Rotondo, Rob Mokaraka (Sunday 29 April 8.30pm)
Italy, 1944: a battle torn-theatre of the Second World War. The allied onslaught stalls at Monte Cassino and the 28th Māori Battalion find themselves centre stage. A young Māori soldier goes out to steal food; an Italian takes cover in a stable. Both find themselves trapped in a potentially deadly stand-off, but with Germans just outside, their survival depends on co-operation.

• Awhi Tapu  by Albert Belz (Sunday 29 April 8.30pm)
At the foot of the Urewera ranges lies Awhi Tapu – a desolate forestry ghost town; with the forestry industry closed down most of the inhabitants have left. Wendyl, Sonny, Casper and Girl Girl have only each other and their fertile imaginations to rely on. Starring: Matariki Whatarau, Tola Newbery, Kura Forrester, James Tito.

• Purapurawhetu by Briar Grace-Smith (Sunday 06 May 8.30pm)
Purapurawhetu tells the story of a small community that has a painful, unacknowledged past which affects the present internal politics and hence cannot move on. Where have all the people gone? They have left because the place is full of sadness and no one knows why. Starring: Rawiri Paratene, Keisha Castle Hughes, Rob Mokaraka, Scott Cotter, Roimata Fox.

• When Sun And Moon Collide by Briar Grace-Smith (Sunday 13 May 8.30pm)
Isaac runs a tea rooms in the middle of nowhere where he watches life and cars pass by his window each day. When two of his customers share a chance meeting, he finds himself embroiled in something very sinister. Starring: Calvin Tuteao, Xavier Horan, Kip Chapman, Maria Walker, Sophie Roberts, Ben Van Lier, Anders Falstie-Jensen.

• Irirangi Bay by Riwia Brown (Sunday 20 May 8.30pm)
The consequences of a makutu (curse) laid during the New Zealand land wars haunts this passionate story. A seemingly perfect married couple of the 1950′s are victims of a web of secrets that threaten their very lives. Starring: Jamie McCaskill, Michelle Blundell

• The Prophet by Hone Kouka (Sunday 27 May 8.30pm)
Five cousins have returned to their ‘home’ on the East coast for another cousin’s unveiling. Over the three days they are there, they grow from being kids to adults. With the backdrop of basketball, cool urban sounds and the beautiful East Coast of the north island, The Prophet is chill, funny and definitely unforgettable. Starring: Tola Newbery, Matariki Whatarau, Juanita Hepi, Cian White, Scott Cotter, Waimihi Hotere.