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Māori Battalion - March to Victory

Television (Full Length) – 1990

Director's reflections

The Māori Battalion presents us with one of the great stories of our country. The ranks of surviving veterans are thinning out quickly, and within all too few years, the last of them will have gone into that night.

When we made the documentary we knew we were dealing with a tragic and noble, but vital part of our Nation's story. We treated it seriously and aimed beyond recording the mere facts of the war of these men - to trying to capture how they felt about it. I think we achieved that.

The process of filming the doco itself was pretty complex and difficult. It was an awful lot of work, but also an awful lot of fun.

The crew and I felt humble before all that they had done when they were young men. And I asked myself ... would I have gone to fight with the Māori Battalion, if I was them, way back then? And as much as I deplore war, I'd have to say yes. And actually, that frightens me.

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