Awanui Simich-Pene, New Zealand, 2024, 11mins

Aotearoa, 1826. A dying man makes his way home along a rugged coastline on horseback. Meanwhile, a young Māori girl weaves a toy waka (boat) while reciting a chant in the ancient traditions of her tribe.

She ventures off through the forest to launch her waka in a quick-running stream. Led astray in her pursuit of the waka, the girl finds herself at the foot of a giant sand dune, the boundary of a great burial ground.

A flock of birds scatter from the treetops, alerting her to approaching danger, and she takes cover.

From her hiding place in the reeds, the girl spies upon the sickly, dying rider and a Taniwha! A mythical creature. This is the first horse she has ever seen.

The girl steps out from her hiding place to offer her waka as a gift to console the man and get closer to the horse.

In an unexpected moment of contact, the dying man realises he may have inadvertently passed on his disease to the girl.