The world is awash with bad news at the moment, whether it’s the war in the Middle East, the planned shutterings announced by Heinz Watties and McCain in Hawkes Bay, or the lack of domestic and international production in Aotearoa this year.
It’s with a great deal of pleasure, therefore, that I got to watch director and DEGANZ board member Rebecca Tansley’s extremely feel-good documentary film Tenor: My Name Is Pati.
Having hit No. 1, it now sits at No. 2 at the NZ box office with $399,926 after just its second week in theatres.
I was fortunate to have seen the film a couple of months ago, together with a majority Pacific Island community in attendance. Then two weeks ago, we held a joint screening of the film together with WIFT at the Bridgeway in Birkenhead, with a mixture of Bridgeway, WIFT/DEGANZ attendees and others.
At both screenings, there was laughter, shouts of joy and even the occasional tear as the audience followed the hero’s journey of Pati from singing in a South Auckland resthome as a kid to the role as an adult of the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
Film has a wonderful ability to transport the soul, and Rebecca’s film did it with ease. An engaging protagonist (together with his brother Amitai and other family members). A journey filled with trials and tribulations. Wonderfully crafted. And an outcome that was rapturous in its climax, which for me was when Pati knew he had clinched the recording performance of Nessun Dorma under demanding task master, conductor Emmanuel Villaume. At the Bridgeway, the audience burst into spontaneous applause at this pivotal moment.
We should all applaud the addition of this film to New Zealand’s cinematic heritage.
DEGANZ is recognising all New Zealand filmmakers’ collective efforts this month, along with many other guilds and associations, by supporting a promotion created by Piki Films celebrating New Zealand cinema. The promotion will be part of their 10-year anniversary celebration re-release of another Kiwi film that warmed NZ hearts while highlighting child neglect—Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
In the trying times that we are in as a screen sector in New Zealand, it’s never been more important to support our local screen talent, their work, and the contributions they and their films and programmes make to New Zealand identity, culture and society.
In the feedback we have just given to the government on the proposed changes to the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate – International 5% Uplift, we, along with all of the other above-the-line guilds and associations, stressed the need for the 5% Uplift to meaningfully advance our domestic sector and its talent, otherwise we risk becoming a country that only services international production. That’s no laughing matter.
Pati, though, was good for a laugh, some nice warm fuzzies, and a welcome escape from the uncomfortable reality that surrounds many of us.
Although I’m an arthouse fan at heart, I equally appreciate the pleasures that feel-good films like Pati give us.
Get along if you can. You won’t regret it.
Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director
Last updated on 25 March 2026
