Soldiers Without Guns

The Bougainville civil war raged for a decade, with locals split over the impact of an Australian-owned copper mine. In 1997 New Zealand was asked to broker a peace deal and the NZ Defence Force tried a new approach: the quota of female soldiers was boosted, and they were armed with Māori culture and music. This feature documentary reveals extraordinary stories of using haka and song to connect with war-ravaged locals, and how the women of this matrilineal society were key to finding peace. The award-winning film was a 13-year passion project for Will Watson; he expanded it from his 2016 TV doco Haka and Guitars.