Private Project

Last Shot at Messenger

Tony Pascoe is a generational cattle farmer who lives in the beautiful Mangapēpeke Valley, Taranaki. Waka Kotahi - the New Zealand Transport Agency - are actively destroying virgin native wetland by building the Mt Messenger bypass which will save 7 minutes and forcefully remove Tony from his whenua.

In a theatre of iwi/hapū politics, precious freshwater reserves, and a NZD$250 million dollar bypass, this film is Tony's last shot at saving one of the last major wetlands in Aotearoa New Zealand and defending his land.

'Last Shot at Messenger' is selected for DocEdge festival, New Zealand's premier documentary festival.

  • Ethan Alderson-Hughes
    Director
    A Fracking Tour of Taranaki
  • Micah Winiata
    Producer
    TAIAO, One Winter, Te Ara Whakamua, Sonata, Hades
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Climate Change, Nature
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 52 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 15, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 NZD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    New Zealand
  • Language:
    English, Maori
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital - Black Magic Raw
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • DocEdge
    Wellington, Auckland
    New Zealand
    June 16, 2023
    New Zealand Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Ethan Alderson-Hughes

Ethan Alderson-Hughes is an emerging filmmaker dedicated to developing climate activism and social justice oriented content. After graduating AUT with a major in screen production, Ethan’s first endeavour into the short documentary format was as part of Chilldocs 2019 with his film ‘Kaitiaki’, which he produced, directed, and edited, detailing the occupation of Ihumaatao in defiance of a housing project. He is perhaps best known for his 2021 short documentary ‘A Fracking Tour of Taranaki’, which he directed and edited as part of Someday Stories series 5. He aims to challenge ideas, provoke conversation and conservation, and push for change in the climate space, focusing mainly on how infrastructure and our human desire for growth impacts our planet.

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