This news piece contains references to systemic child abuse. Please proceed with care.
The Stolen Children of Aotearoa, edited by DEGANZ board president Ben Powdrell and fellow member Trinity Ludlow-Hudson, is premiering later this month at Māoriland Film Festival, followed by a wider release on Whakaata Māori and Māori+.
The feature documentary unearths the chilling history of the systemic abuse of an estimated 250,000 children, many of whom were Māori, between 1950-2019. Led by veteran journalist Aaron Smale, the film investigates the origins of this mass injustice, tracing back to Aotearoa’s colonisation which stripped Māori of their language, culture, and land. Embedded systemic racism led to the forced removal of Māori children from their homes and into the state’s care where they endured rampant and unchecked abuse. The film also exposes the horrors of Lake Alice Hospital, where children were subjected to electroconvulsive therapy and drug-induced punishment—an act now recognized as torture.
Survivors recount their stories, stolen childhoods, and lifelong scars left by trauma. The film also reflects on how the harm caused by the state led to greater issues down the line, highlighting that many young men who endured life in borstals later turned to gangs or spent their lives behind bars.
By highlighting the survivors’ long and brutal fight for justice, the documentary questions if the government’s apology is too little, too late.
The Stolen Children of Aotearoa is premiering at the 2025 Māoriland Film Festival on 28 March. The film will screen on Whakaata Māori on Monday, March 31st, 8.30pm and on Māori+ from April 1st, 2025.
