Alien Weaponry documentary Kua Tupu Te Ara to get theatrical release in 2025

01 Nov 2024, 15:26 · louder

By Matt Mills
( Metal Hammer )
published 1 November 2024

The film, about the rise of New Zealand’s Māori metal sensations, will start rolling into cinemas in February

(Image credit: Piotr Kwasnik)

A documentary about New Zealand groove metal champions Alien Weaponry is coming to cinemas.

Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara – which also features Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe, Testament vocalist Chuck Billy and Gojira members Joe and Mario Duplantier – will get a theatrical release in 2025, starting with New Zealand screens from February 6. Watch a new trailer for the film below.

Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara documents the first six years of the band’s career, as they rose from an outfit formed by brothers Lewis (vocals/guitars) and Henry De Jong (drums), then aged eight and 10, to international viral sensations.

Of the upcoming release, the band comment: “We are so excited for Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara to be coming to Aotearoa cinemas and to share this film with all our fans. The film captures our journey navigating the world of music, showing the highlights, the hardships, and everything in between.”

Kelly Rogers, CEO of the film’s distributor Rialto Distribution, also comments: “Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara is an absolute must-see for the fans, but we also believe the film will be an incredible watch for any filmgoer who love to see a true and authentic story of courage, inspiration and down-to-earth values. Alien Weaponry are a phenomenon, we are proud to share their story with Aotearoa.”

The documentary, directed by Kent Belcher, had its world premiere at the Tribeca film festival in New York City in June. Belcher commented ahead of the screening: “After six years of travelling with, living with and filming the Alien Weaponry family, to finally be able to share that with audiences and showcase Māori culture in a vibrant and heartfelt way is just so rewarding. To have my first film as director premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival is an absolute dream come true.”

Alien Weaponry started in 2010 and have shared stages with Guns ’N’ Roses, Gojira, Knocked Loose, Black Label Society, Black Dahlia Murder, Employed To Serve and more. They released debut album Tū in 2018 and followup Tangaroa in 2021, both to positive reviews.

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Alien Weaponry will tour North America with Kerry King (Slayer) and Municipal Waste from January to February. See dates and get tickets.

ALIEN WEAPONRY: KUA TUPU TE ARA | Official Trailer | In NZ Cinemas February 6th - YouTube

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Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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