Ans Westra - Private Journeys / Public Signposts

Television (Full Length) – 2006

This Qantas-nominated 70-minute documentary turns the camera on photographer Ans Westra. The Dutch émigré captured iconic images of New Zealanders from the late 1950s, expressively observing changes in Kiwi society — particularly Māori urban drift. This film explores her remarkable life and work, and includes commentary from family, friends, photographers, and those she photographed. There is also discussion of the controversy over her 1964 book Washday at the Pā. Luit Bieringa, curator of a 2004 Westra's exhibition, directed the documentary — it was his first. Read more about both Westra and the film here.

I can't help being captured by photography. I'm a gatherer, I collect images, my vision of that particular moment.
– Ans Westra, at the start of this documentary