When a Warrior Dies

This film documents the creation of a memorial in the Bay of Islands, to mark the 1985 bombing of Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior. Artist Chris Booth worked with Greenpeace and the local Ngāti Kura community to create a clifftop sculpture at Mātauri Bay — close to the last resting places of two legendary vessels: the Rainbow Warrior in the waters of the Cavalli Islands, and Mataatua, one of the waka which journeyed from Hawaiki. The film interweaves the back story of the bombing and eventual scuttling of the Rainbow Warrior, with efforts to finish the sculpture in time for commemorations.

I see the Rainbow Warrior as probably the biggest battleship that ever traversed the oceans of the world. But she wasn’t armed with guns, she was armed with peace. The only power she had was what she stood for . . . she had so much power that the French even sent their secret agents in, to bomb her.

– Dover Samuels, who suggested that the Rainbow Warrior be buried at Mātauri Bay, at the start of this documentary

Key Cast & Crew

Tim Woodhouse

Editor

Philippa Steele

Producer

Waka Attewell

Producer, Additional Camera Operator

Martyn Sanderson

Writer

Mike Hardcastle

Director, Cinematographer, Producer

Donna Akersten

Narrator