Oscar Kightley (Sione’s Wedding) directs DAWN RAID, a film that charts the rise and fall of New Zealand’s first hip-hop label. The iconic label was quick to ascend: after their formation by duo Brotha D and Andy Murnane in the late ‘90s, they went from selling bootleg t-shirts to signing acts that opened for Beyoncé, Busta Rhymes and Wu Tang Clan. An important voice for the Pacific community, Dawn Raid were on top of the music world of the southern hemisphere – until they weren’t. The ambition and bravado that built them up also bringing them down, Kightley’s film tracks the devastating losses they also experienced and the ultimate demise of the label.