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Patu!

Film (Full Length) – 1983

PG
Parental Guidance

Merata Mita’s Patu! is a startling record of the mass civil disobedience that took place throughout New Zealand during the winter of 1981, in protest against a South African rugby tour. Testament to the courage and faith of both the marchers and a large team of filmmakers, the feature-length documentary is a landmark in Aotearoa's film history. It staunchly contradicts claims by author Gordon McLauchlan a couple of years earlier that New Zealanders were "a passionless people".

Yes, Patu! has a Māori perspective, but it does not override the mass mobilisation of New Zealand's white middle class, neither does it take credit from those who rightly deserve it, everyone who put themselves on the line. My perspective encourages people to look at themselves and examine the ground they stand on.
– Merata Mita reflecting on accusations of bias in Patu!

Key Cast & Crew

Generic Profile image for Barry Harbert

Barry Harbert

Lead Camera Operator

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Gerd Pohlmann

Lead Sound Recordist, Coordinator

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Annie Collins

Editor

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Merata Mita

Director, Producer

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Richard S Long

Camera Operator

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Brian Shennan

Sound Mix

See all 26 credits

Produced by

Awatea Films

Music

Original Theme Music: Diatribe, Tia Kingi
Additional music by Syd Melbourne and Haruru Mai

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