A documentary about hit New Zealand song 'Poi E' has premiered to a sold out Civic Theatre in Auckland.
Fronted by the unforgettable Dalvanius Prime, the Patea Maori Club hit song is credited with changing Kiwi music forever.
Poi E: The Story of Our Song director Tearepa Kahi says the film started with "three bros sitting round a table at a café".
"A good friend of mine who is actually Dalvanius Prime's namesake, born and bred in Patea, he just said 'hey we got this idea bro'. He'd been talking about it with another bro," says Kahi.
"It was the 30th anniversary of 'Poi E' and we just thought, this seems like a goer."
'Poi E' hit number one in 1984, outselling even Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and rejuvenating a small community about to be devastated by the closing of its freezing works.
"This is an amazing story and I'd like to think that I can write, but I couldn't write this," says Kahi of the film.
"No one could. This is beyond anyone's capabilities in terms of being able to write this type of trajectory."
Kahi says receiving a cassette tape with an original, unheard recording of 'Poi E' in a Tokumaru Bay kitchen was when he first knew he had something very special.
"There was a moment early in the journey where someone told me I was only going to have one opportunity to tell this story, so I had to tell it the best I could with all the time I needed," says Kahi.
"I'm proud of the fact we have told it the best we can, with all the time that we've needed. Because this story deserved all of that attention."
Poi E: The Story of Our Song is currently playing at the 2016 New Zealand International Film Festival.
Newshub.