#mauri

Celebrating Merata Mita! "Merata Mita is a key figure in the story of Māori filmmaking. Through documentaries, interviews and her only dramatic feature Mauri, she was a passionate voice for Māori, and an advocate for social change." Read more on NZ On Screen's biography of Merata Mita: Director, Writer, Producer [Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāi Te Rangi].

Mauri (1988) "When she made Mauri, Merata Mita became the first Māori woman to write and direct a dramatic feature. Mauri (meaning life force), is loosely set around a love triangle and explores cultural tensions, identity, and changing ways of life in a dwindling East Coast town."

Read more on NZ On Screen.

Patu! (1983)

"...across different games in different cities, filming is a kinetic and almost desperate navigation of space; the camera is almost continually in motion, attempting to capture as much as it possibly can. With synchronised audio impossible, wild sound is layered into the mix to orient or disorient the action on screen. The chaos of real life violence becomes chaos on screen."

Read more in The Spinoff's The incredible legacy of Merata Mita’s Patu!.

Learn about Merata Mita's life and work by watching Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen (2018) directed by her son Heperi Mita. Watch the trailer:

Her legacy continues to be honored through Sundance's Merata Mita Fellowship, “created for Indigenous women-identified artists poised to direct their first feature film.”  This week Caroline Monnet was named the 2023 Fellowship recipient. Explore Merata Mita's filmography on MUBI: