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War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us
Film (Full Length and Trailer) – 1995
In this acclaimed documentary, seven women look back on their personal experiences of World War ll. Their intimate, unadorned stories are filmed talking heads style, alongside personal photographs and old newsreel clips. From tragic love stories to long-suppressed revelations of romance and death, War Stories is a revealing touchstone of New Zealand history. It won a long line of rave reviews, many from overseas. LA Times critic Kevin Thomas praised how director Gaylene Preston takes "a simple idea and turns it into a rich, universal experience". Read here about the film's long journey, and the acclaim that followed.
He was always writing and saying "please come over, because I need you." External Affairs said "no, you can't go, nobody is allowed out of the country." So I went to the Prime Minister, Peter Fraser.– Pamela Quill on trying to visit her husband Paul, who was a pilot in World War ll (in the first interview)
Key Cast & Crew
See all 34 credits
Acknowledgements
Featured interviews, in order of appearance: Pamela Quill, Flo Small, Tui Preston, Jean Andrews, Rita Graham, Neva Clarke McKenna, Mabel Waititi
Made with funding from the NZ Film Commission and NZ On Air, in association with TV3
Presented with thanks to the Aotearoa/New Zealand Film Heritage Trust – Te Puna Ataata
Music
Closing credits music 'As Time Goes By' composed by Herman Hupfeld
Music composed and arranged by Jonathan Besser
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