The Sound Of My Father

John takes emotional steps on his journey of self-discovery, walking onto his ancestral marae for the first time, shoulder to shoulder with his American brother Ron Asher. John sits down to listen to the cassette, and finally hears the sound of his father.

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In California, Rita plays the cassette to Don’s children and receives the shock of her life. What if everything we knew up until now is wrong? Back in New Zealand, Rita connects with Jean’s children to reveal the trauma she faced in her life after Don left.

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Rita travels to Ferndale, California, retracing John’s journey in 1996 to meet his American family. We learn just how much John meant to Don, and what impact John had, not only on Don’s life, but also on Don’s wife and children.

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John is given a purse of letters that shakes the foundations of everything he knows. John learns that his father, Don Asher, not only knew about him, but had been trying to make contact with him.

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A star rugby player, John is in his 30s when the secret of his birth is revealed in a shocking way. Rita discovers the forces that brought John's birth parents - Jean Nikora and US marine Don Asher - together in World War II.

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If you have them lying around it might be time to dust off those old cassettes. Because you never know what these little packages of the past could be holding. Sometimes… they can even change everything you thought you knew about your family's past. That’s exactly what happened to TV director Rita Attwood, the woman behind the new RNZ podcast The Sound Of My Father. Rita joins Emile on the show tonight to discuss the podcast.

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When documentary maker Rita Attwood discovers a cassette with a 60-year-old, unheard recording on it, she sets out to help John Court, her step-dad, on a journey of self-discovery.

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When a long-lost tape surfaces, John Court embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Born to a US Marine and a wahine Māori who fell in love in World War II, John’s search also reveals a hidden NZ history. Produced in partnership with Riot Works.

Watch the video trailer for the The Sound Of My Father here

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