In 1984 the number one hit on the pop charts - outselling even 'Thriller' - was 'Poi E'.
The song has been in the top 10 here every decade for the past 30 years, and now 'Poi E' - and more importantly the story of 'Poi E' - is on the big screen.
Like every great story it was slow to reveal itself, Poi E: The Story of Our Song director Tearepa Kahi says the writer of the song Dalvanius Prime had meant it to be that way.
"I had an idea what the film could be but that was quickly obliterated by who the people are and what magic the breadcrumb trail Dalvanius had laid for me. He put me through my paces - he did not make it easy! And it shouldn't be easy," says Kahi.
"He changed the face of music in NZ more than any other person. [He] brought two cultures together and 100 percent backed himself. Some people thought he was mad, that it would never work, even some the Patea Maori Club - some of the girls were like: 'you're crazy!'," says Lynda Topp from the Topp Twins.
Dalvanius Prime is of course front and centre, just the way he liked it.
But the stars here are just as likely to be the local butcher or freezing worker - this film belongs to Patea, and the now famous Patea Maori Club.
"You've just gotta get out of the way, maybe lob a question but otherwise you just stay out of the way. You can never beat the real thing, and Patea is littered with and made up of the real thing," says Kahi.
"[I think I felt like maybe we had something special here] when a little tape cassette showed up, and it hadn't been played for 30 years. It was made in a little old ladies kitchen in Tokamaru Bay 1982, April 16th maybe, and when I hears it on this tiny little Walkman, the whole game changed really."
That was the moment. Listening to voices from the past, in a little kitchen in Tokumaru Bay, sing 'Poi E' for the very first time.
The sell-out crowd at the Civic tonight is the first big audience to see the film. Kahi is excited and nervous. He knows you only get one chance to tell a story like this.
"I'm proud of the fact we have told it the best we can, with all the time that we needed. Because this story deserved all that attention, and these characters and these people deserve to receive the best treatment. Lighting up in the Civic, on a big screen in front of a packed house - that's how Dalvanius would want it. That's what he would expect!" says Kahi.
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