Kete Aronui - Merata Mita

This episode of the show on Kiwi artists follows Māori screen pioneer Merata Mita. Mita produced vital work anchored in culture and community. This extract looks at the day police arrested 200+ protesters at Bastion Point, on 25 May 1978. Mita and protest leader Joe Hawke reveal how the occupation shaped Mita's concerns as a filmmaker: "It was life, it was a transformation". Included is footage from Bastion Point: Day 507 — which Mita directed with Gerd Pohlmann and Leon Narbey — plus Patu, Mauri and Utu. Plus Mita runs a lab for indigenous filmmakers. This episode was the 17th screened in Kete Aronui's fifth season.

It was interesting because the whole idea of it isn't like getting the scripts in order, it’s about nurturing and helping the screenwriter and the director to reach the point where they feel confident about going out and directing the film that they've written.

– Mita on her film lab for aboriginal writers and directors

Key Cast & Crew

Gene Rivers

Composer

Merata Mita

Subject

Ngatapa Black

Narrator

Kelly Kahukiwa

Composer

Chelsea Winstanley

Producer

Jane Reeves

Director