Alpine Fault Magnitude 8

Don’t Be Scared, Be Prepared!

Follow Avatar and Pōua as they embark on a journey along the Alpine Fault, exploring its vast stretch across Te Waipounamu. Pōua shares creation stories passed down of the land’s formation, while Avatar, with her curious mind, asks questions that lead to explanations about tectonic plates and the historical earthquakes, making a complex scientific concept digestible and engaging through a blend of dialogue and cinematic storytelling.

According to Ngāi Tahu creation stories, earthquakes are caused by Rūaumoko, the son of Ranginui (the Sky Father) and his wife Papatūanuku (the Earth Mother). Māori had experienced rū whenua, which means ‘the shaking of the land’ for centuries. The Alpine Fault is the longest naturally forming straight line on earth. It marks the meeting of two large tectonic plates and has formed over millions of years, stretching longer, lifting our landscape up out of the ocean, and creating the peaks of Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps) with every large earthquake it generates.

Māui Studios collaborated with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and AF8 to raise awareness about the Alpine Fault (AF8) and educate audiences across Aotearoa, aiming to build resilience and understanding in communities as they prepare for the next major earthquake. The campaign went on to win the 2024 EMPA New Zealand Award for Readiness and Resilience in Emergency Communication.

Client: AF8, Ngāi Tahu, NHC Toka Tū Ake
Executive Producers: Alice Lake-Hammond & Keela Atkinson-Cranwell
Pou Auaha / Creative Directors: Madison Henry-Ryan, Patrick Hussey and Shan Thompson-Puna
Starring: The Manawatū Whānau, Kahurangi Mahuika, Ace and Andre