Thank you for your generous support! Your help has made a real difference — we’re now able to cover part of our travel costs and keep moving forward.We’re so grateful to have you with us on this journey!

Kia ora everyone,It’s been a year since we launched the Boosted campaign for MESSIE's Documentary, and we just wanted to say a massive thank you!Because of your support, we’ve been able to keep this project alive. Over the past year, we’ve taken the documentary around the world - filming at Glastonbury, festivals and shows across the UK and Europe, Australia, Aotearoa, and of course through countless airports - capturing some of the biggest moments in Tessa’s life to date.At its core, this project began as a story about Tessa and her roots in the underground music scene - but it’s grown into something much more. It’s a portrait of what it means to stay true to yourself as a DJ, an artist, and a creative person in today's world - navigating social media, adulthood, solo travel, and the pull between art and commercialisation. It’s about real people making space for themselves, holding onto their values, and chasing what they believe in. Your support gave us the momentum we needed to keep going. We're still in the thick of it - still filming, still fully committed to telling this story with authenticity and passion. With over 70 hours of gig, interview, observational, archival and process footage, we are still going. We’ve learnt that documentaries like this need space and time to develop, and we’re determined to continue capturing everything as it unfolds. With recent notable pit stops featuring her debut at Brixton Academy in London, Lollapalooza in Berlin, Amnesia in Ibiza and numerous other venues across the United Kingdom and Europe. Tessa is wrapping up her time overseas and is on her way back home to jump straight into her own nationwide tour.We’re excited to keep documenting her journey while her career progresses over the next couple of years, and to bring you all along. Ngā mihi, MESSIE's Doco Team.

Kia ora for one last time, kind backers.When we first posted over a month ago, we were certain of our direction, but we were not certain that others would band together around us to make it happen. Turns out, we were right to make that leap of faith, because you came in and got our backs. The second episode of J.A.F.A. has made it from page, to set, and is now being refined in the post-production processes to get it onto screens. That's thanks to our writers and directors Red and Amy; our producers, Jessica, Lauren, Shannon, Ella and Luke; our production crew Daryl, Meggy, Louise, Daniel, Cedric, Jeri, Alice, Anne-Marie, Jackson, Maddie, Caitlin, Iona, Henry, Josh, Charlie, Clarissa, Faith, James, Harsh, Joey, Isiah, Imogen, Scott and Claire; our onscreen talent Karlton, Jessica, Jono, Lena and Jaime; and finally to you, our amazing backers.We look forward to letting you know in the future about where this episode of J.A.F.A. ends up, and what our next adventures are.With our eternal gratitude, e noho rā. 

🚜🐑✨ While out in the paddock doing chores, award-winning author & illustrator Ruth Paul sent us this special shout-out:💬 “Puts you in touch with teachers… you are my heroes!”We couldn’t agree more ❤️ Our Story Tours connect tamariki, teachers, authors, and illustrators across Aotearoa — and we need your help to keep them going!  

Hi everyone,We had a fantastic day recording on Saturday - we got everything we needed in record time. It was a surreal experience, being surrounded by tripods, cameras, towers of microphones - as well as all of the people I had assembled to sing and record one of my own compositions. All the while I kept thinking of your support which had made it all possible. I feel incredibly grateful to have been able to round-off my time in NZ with such a spectacular crew of people, including our nine singers, Paul our sound engineer, and the wonderful video crew from The Dispersion Group - and Matthew who brought along his camera! Video and audio are now being edited, mixed, mastered, etc. so we will have something to share with you all over the coming months, if not weeks. Stay tuned - and thank you all so much for your support. It means so much.Now, wish me luck, because I need to go pack for my flight which leaves in two days! ;)Fergus

Kia ora backers, and welcome to the final day of our campaign. It's crazy to find ourselves here after over a month of hard work getting ready to shoot, and then the shooting itself. More work lies ahead in post-production, but we are so grateful to have had you backing us through this, the most crucial part of the process with the majority of the cogs spinning and things which could go wrong. But they have all gone so, so well, we are happy to report.Time for one last account from on set two weekends ago, but first, these photos, some candid shots which show how stunning the light in the location really was…Here's the account from associate producer Ella Blake Brislen:Best. Weekend. Ever.I absolutely loved getting to know each and every person, new and old, whilst making incredible mahi together. It was a dream. Everyone made my job so easy and fun, I swear I've got abs from how much I laughed in between set-ups! By our second day, Henry and I were bantering about our height differences whilst Jackson, Anne, and I were dishing out nicknames left, right, and centre. Accidentally syncing up with Meggy whilst moving boxes around, play-flirting with Maddie and Shan over the RTs, and cheering on Cedric through our prop door are just some of the little bites of joy and fun we had throughout the weekend.This crew made it, and they made it laughing, and we made it great and quickly too (cheering together when calling a picture wrap 30 minutes early on our last day together was the cherry on top) and we couldn't have done it without them.Tomorrow, this will all be over. What a month it has been for us! Thank you, as always, for coming along on the ride. Ka kite!

In our first outing in addition to the radio programme/podcast, five Kapiti Poets from the 1st series were represented at the inaugural Bookmark Kapiti book festival in their Author Alley, on 10th August - selling books, cards, DVDs, games, poems in bottles, CDs, zines ......    The weather outside wasn't so friendly(!), but the atmosphere we all created inside was warm and inviting. It was great to perform some poems, and meet lovely people. 

Every donation has brought us here and we are beyond grateful for your continued support in helping us reach our stretch goal. Through your generosity, we are able to make this story possible and we are so excited for you to see it! An enormous thank you from Z, Maanika and Liliana! 

Kia ora backers! Can you believe we only have two days to go until this campaign is over? We're still so chuffed that you got us over the line! We are just blown away by your kindness. You are making our dreams come true.Today we have the second installment of the accounts from our weekend on set. First the photos, then the words...Here's the account from Jess Bennett, producer and actor: As a production team member, I was stoked with how smoothly this project went. It was some incredibly hard mahi from everyone all the way from the beginning to our two shoot days, but everyone just put their heads down and got the work doneAs an actor, I don't think I've ever been on a set that was so supportive and respectful of the work Karlton and I were doing on the day. This was an incredibly emotional script, and the two of us felt it, but we never would have been able to get to that space if the environment around us had been chaotic - I'm very grateful to the team for that.I also have to highlight Ben and Amy's abilities as co-directors here, they were so polished with their communication it was practically like it was one person. Their direction was always just the right nudge in a certain direction and it was so easy to follow those adjustments.And then finally I really have to highlight Mr Karlton Laing. A beast of an actor, he was so generous with his energy and what he gave to each take that performing opposite him was easy. He also puts down an absolutely incredible performance that I am so excited for everyone to be able to see when this film is all done! All this teamwork, practical learning, and fun - you made that possible. So thank you again, kind backers. We'll be back again soon with another update as we get closer to the end of this campaign.Ka kite!