Māori Television reveals a striking and pivotal account of the life of one of Aotearoa’s musical crusaders, Tigilau Ness, with the screening of FROM STREET TO SKY on Wednesday August 2 at 8.00 PM.

The documentary film is a personal account of four decades of protest and how a humble man from Nuiean descent has helped shape the relationship between Māori and peoples of the Pacific – not only through his music but also through his physical actions on the ‘street’.

Tigi (otherwise known as musician Che Fu’s father) immigrated to Aotearoa in the mid-50’s at a time when Pacific Island immigration was more welcomed than the proceeding decades, characterised by the infamous dawn raids and national uproar.

As an impressionable 20-year-old, Tigi joined the Polynesian Panthers and formed a unique relationship with Ngā Tama Toa, allowing him to take a stand on both Pacific Island and Māori civil liberty issues with marches and protests. He was even prepared to sit in front of the Waitangi flag pole with a “car full of dynamite” at one stage to prove his point!

FROM STREET TO SKY explores the later relationship of his inspirational music with that of protest – from his stand against apartheid and the 1982 Springbok Tour to his later involvement in the Bastion Point protests.

Now, after 27 years of writing music he has recently signed a record deal with EMI with his current group, Unity Pacific, and at 52 years of age he has achieved what many young musicians can only aspire too.

Shot over five months by Blue Bach Productions, FROM STREET TO SKY is an inspirational and important documentary not to be missed as it screens on Māori Television, Wednesday August 22 at 8.00 PM.