Waihorotiu is a short documentary to rediscover our buried waterways. It is a search for the Waihorotiu stream that once ran where Auckland’s Queen Street now lies. From the canopy of ageing skyscrapers to the abandoned pipelines below ground, this visual dissection of Auckland City searches for traces of Waihorotiu, an ancient waterway situated in the city centre. Through archival imagery and animation the film explores the history of Waihorotiu, and the relationship between urbanisation and waterways.

Waihorotiu is one of ten three-minute documentaries made as part of Loading Docs 2015. Representing a diverse range of subjects and filmmaking styles, these films are available to view at loadingdocs.net

The film was made by Louis Olsen, Frances Haszard, Scott Elder, and Vincent Paunovic, with respective backgrounds in film, animation, engineering and journalism. Original score by Lawrence Fergus Goodwin. Interviews conducted by Ben Leonard. Graphic Design by Eva Charlton and Ange Smuga. Website by Ben Olsen. This film was made possible thanks to the generous support of Trilogy.