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Patu!
Film (Full Length) – 1983
Merata Mita’s Patu! charts the protests that took place across New Zealand in the winter of 1981, before and during a South African rugby tour. Testament to the courage and faith of both the marchers and a large team of filmmakers, the feature documentary is seen as a landmark in New Zealand screen history. It staunchly contradicts claims by author Gordon McLauchlan of New Zealanders being "a passionless people". Conflicting views about the tour spread to the film itself, with some saying it shouldn't have got any state funding. In 1993, a shortened version screened on TVNZ. Read about Patu! and the tour here.
We do not fear you. We might shed blood on the road, we might show some bruises tonight, but at least we can sleep with a clear conscience. We will sleep with a clear conscience. Many of you won’t. Some of you might think you will, but history is on our side, and that’s what matters . . . History is always on the side of the people — not armies, not policemen and not governments. History is always on the side of the people.– Actor Tama Poata in a speech to police, 87 minutes into Patu!
Key Cast & Crew
See all 42 credits
Produced by
Awatea Films
Acknowledgements
Made with financial assistance from the QEll Arts Council & the NZ Film Commission — "plus all those who contributed in ways too numerous to mention"
Music
Theme Music by Diatribe and Tia Kingi
More Information
-
Video interview with Patu! editor Annie Collins, Ngā Taonga website
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Live radio report on protests during the first match, in Gisborne, Te Ara website
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Article looking back on anti-tour protests in Hamilton, The Waikato Times, July 2021
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Article on 1981 anti-tour protests near Parliament, NZ History website
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