



2025
Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds
As he records his first album in te reo Māori, Marlon Williams opens a gentle window into the spaces between language, identity, and sound. This observational portrait is less about fluency than feeling, capturing an artist drawn toward something deeper than words.
Director
Ursula Grace Williams
Runtime
92 Minutes
Country
New Zealand
Classification
Unclassified 15+
Beloved for his haunting voice and genre-defying songwriting, Marlon Williams has built a career on straddling borders - between country and crooner, Māori and Pākehā, past and future. In Ngā Ao e Rua – Two Worlds, the acclaimed Aotearoa artist turns inward.
Gently observational and rich with landscape, the film follows Williams as he begins work on his first album sung entirely in te reo Māori. While he does not speak the language fluently, Williams describes te reo as something that has always unlocked emotion, a way of feeling rather than explaining. What unfolds is not a grand statement of cultural reclamation, but something quieter and more resonant.
This is a portrait of an artist listening deeply, searching for shape and sound that honour both inheritance and instinct. Set across the windswept coasts and quiet spaces of Aotearoa, Ngā Ao e Rua is a meditation on voice, land, and creative risk. In tracing this artistic process, both grounded and searching, the film captures a musician not just returning to his roots, but tuning more precisely to the frequencies that have always been present.
Gently observational and rich with landscape, the film follows Williams as he begins work on his first album sung entirely in te reo Māori. While he does not speak the language fluently, Williams describes te reo as something that has always unlocked emotion, a way of feeling rather than explaining. What unfolds is not a grand statement of cultural reclamation, but something quieter and more resonant.
This is a portrait of an artist listening deeply, searching for shape and sound that honour both inheritance and instinct. Set across the windswept coasts and quiet spaces of Aotearoa, Ngā Ao e Rua is a meditation on voice, land, and creative risk. In tracing this artistic process, both grounded and searching, the film captures a musician not just returning to his roots, but tuning more precisely to the frequencies that have always been present.
“The story is crafted in a way that is natural, his journey seamlessly interwoven - and beautifully filmed.”
RNZ
Sydney, Melbourne

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Film Credits
Director
Ursula Grace Williams
Year
2025
Country
New Zealand
Language
English & Māori
Subtitles
English
Type
Documentary & Feature
Program Strand
World Documentary
Producer
Alexander Behse
Cinematographer
Tim Flower
Editor
Josh Yong
Music
Mark Perkins
Film Source
Madman Entertainment
Genre
Biographical, BIPOC, Feel-Good & Music
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