I Am the River, The River is Me

In 2017, the Whanganui River in Aotearoa/New Zealand was the first river in the world to receive the same rights as humans. This was the result of a more than 150-year long legal battle by the Maori, who see the river as their ancestors, as an indivisible and spiritual being. Ned Tapa, the river's Maori guardian, takes the filmmakers, international water representatives and activists on a five-day canoe trip on the impressive river. I Am The River, The River Is Me is more than a journey through a breathtaking landscape and a society that seems so far removed from our Western one - it is a call for action, a call to change value systems regarding nature and community. revised in the interests of all future life on earth. ' I feel it is my job to ensure that what I've been given, I hand on to others .' – Ned Tapa (Whanganui)