A powerful new Māori documentary series is set to confront Aotearoa’s health inequities head-on, following two whānau members as they undergo drastic weight-loss surgery overseas after being denied timely treatment at home.
PUKUNATI: Lose Weight or Die premieres on Whakaata Māori on Monday 1 September 2025 at 7.30pm, with all eight episodes also streaming on MĀORI+ the same day with English subtitles.
Produced and directed by Ngahuia Wade (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou) of Lake Rotomā-based Te Noni Ltd, the reo-rich observational series tracks Gisborne teacher Faren Ormond (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu) and Rotorua journalist Roihana Nuri (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Gujarati) as they travel to India for bariatric surgery.
“Indigenous health inequity is a kaupapa we couldn’t ignore,” Wade says. “Māori are getting sicker while stuck on hospital waiting lists. For Faren and Roihana, the stakes are nothing less than life or a future of illness and premature death.”
Filmed across Whakatāne, Tauranga, Rotorua, Kerala and Mumbai, PUKUNATI blends intimate access with cultural insight. The series features perspectives from medical tourism agent Annette Brons (Te Arawa) and explores mātauranga Māori around kai and the puku with Ngāi Tūhoe master orator Sir Pou Temara KNZM.
For the first time, examples of medical terminology in te reo Māori are captured on film, normalising hauora language in a personal and urgent context.
“PUKUNATI challenges the system, highlighting Māori voices in a global obesity epidemic while capturing the cultural and emotional toll of seeking care far from home,” Wade says.
Across eight episodes, viewers witness raw moments of fear, courage and resilience:
- Ep 1 (1 Sept): The Weight of a Decision – Faren and Roihana commit to surgery, but Roihana’s rare genetic condition may see him rejected.
- Ep 2 (8 Sept): The Stomach Churns – Faren confronts stigma while obesity survivors reveal backlash against bariatric surgery.
- Ep 3 (15 Sept): Gut-Wrenching – With a visa crisis looming, Roihana’s mental health spirals.
- Ep 4 (22 Sept): Namaste – A devastating complication threatens Roihana’s surgery before it begins.
- Ep 5 (29 Sept): Mind Over Matter – Faren faces her own doubts as the operating theatre awaits.
- Ep 6 (6 Oct): The First Cut is the Deepest – Faren wakes in pain, while Roihana’s journey takes another blow.
- Ep 7 (13 Oct): Trust Your Gut – Roihana battles his greatest challenge yet; Faren faces ridicule after surgery.
- Ep 8 (20 Oct): Proof is in the Pudding – Faren is thinner but not necessarily happier; Roihana returns to India.
Te Noni Ltd has long championed reo Māori in screen storytelling, winning multiple Best Māori Language Programme awards for Ka Haku Au | A Poet’s Lament (2009), E Tū Kahikatea (2010 & 2011), and Rage Against the Rangatahi MMXX (2021).
With PUKUNATI, the company once again brings urgent kaupapa Māori stories to the screen, bridging cultural survival with health realities that affect thousands.
