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Mauri
Film (Excerpts) – 1988
With Mauri, Merata Mita became the first Māori woman to direct a dramatic feature alone. Set around a love triangle, Mauri (meaning life force) explores cultural tensions, identity, and changing ways of life in a East Coast town. Along with Ngāti the previous year, Mauri played a key role in the rise of Māori cinema. The crew of 33 Māori and 20 Pākehā included interns from Hawkes Bay wānanga — plus composer Hirini Melbourne, artist Ralph Hotere as production designer, and actors Eva Rickard and Zac Wallace (star of Utu). Mita argued that filming got better after she fired "racist, arrogant" members of the crew.
We had people working on the film who objected to the locations I had chosen, who tried to shorten the script and cut out all the marae scenes because they didn't understand them.– Writer/director Merata Mita on the challenges of making the film she wanted, in The Auckland Star, 23 June 1987, page B1
Key Cast & Crew
See all 43 credits
Produced by
Awatea Films
Acknowledgements
Made in association with the NZ Film Commission and Radio Hauraki
Music
Female vocalist Te Rita Papesch
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Koha - Mauri
Behind the scenes on Mauri
Rangatira: Merata Mita - Making Waves
Documentary on Mauri's writer/director Merata Mita
Koha - Nga Pikitia Māori
Documentary about Māori cinema which features Mauri
Women - Māori Women in a Pākehā World - Nga Wahine Māori i Roto i te ao Pākehā
Eva Rickard and director Merata Mita both appeared in this
Hotere
Merata Mita profiles Mauri designer, artist Ralph Hotere
Ngāti
A landmark Māori feature released the previous year
Kete Aronui - Merata Mita
Merata Mita discusses her journey as an artist in this
The Strength of Water
Another Māori story directed by a woman
Patu!
Documentary directed by Merata Mita
The Makutu on Mrs Jones
Sonny Waru also acted in this short film
Cousins
Another feature directed by Māori women
Hautoa Mā! The Rise of Māori Cinema
Documentary on the history of Māori cinema
To Love a Māori
Māori director Ramai Hayward worked on this film
This Way of Life
Another East Coast story
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
Trailer for a film about Mauri's director Merata Mita
Making Utu
Merata Mita features in this making of documentary
Restoring the Mauri of Lake Omapere
Doumentary on restoring the mauri of a degraded Northland...
Keskidee Aroha
Co-directed by Merata Mita
Boy
Another East Coast story, co-produced by Merata Mita
Utu
Director Merata Mita acted in this
Good Morning - Merata Mita Tribute
Merata Mita's colleagues pay tribute to her
Close Up - Patu: Completing the Picture
Current affairs story about the making of Patu!
Te Pahū
Merata Mita directed this documentary about taonga pūoro
Saving Grace - Te Whakarauora Tangata
Merata Mita's final documentary, on domestic violence
Waka
Merata Mita directed this music video in Hawaii
Pākiri: The Filmmaker, the Cook & the Singer
Interview with director Merata Mita
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