Merata How Mum Decolonised the Screen
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
Overview
A documentary portrait of the pioneering indigenous filmmaker and activist Merata Mita and an intimate tribute from a son about his mother that delves into the life of the first woman from an Indigenous Nation to solely direct a film anywhere in the world. Known as the grandmother of Indigenous cinema, Merata’s independent political documentaries of the 1970s and 80s highlighted injustices for Māori people and often divided the country. Mita was fearless in her life, her activism and her art. Chronicling the director’s journey to decolonize the film and television screens of New Zealand and the world, the film documents her work, her early struggles with her family and her drive for social justice that often proved personally dangerous.
Trailer
Cast
Merata Mita
Hepi Mita
Rafer Rautjoki
Richard Rautjoki
Rhys Rautjoki
Awatea Mita
Eruera Mita
Alanis Obomsawin
Jesse Wente
C.M. Kaliko Baker
Tammy Haili'opua Baker
Heather Rae
Bird Runningwater
Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
Sterlin Harjo
Pauline Clague
Blackhorse Lowe
Taika Waititi
Desmond Tutu
Crew
Hepi Mita
Cliff Curtis
Chelsea Winstanley
Mike Jonathan
Te Rurehe Paki
Hepi Mita
Tearepa Kahi
Manutai Schuster
Annie Collins
Angela Boyd
Dick Reade
Tama Waipara
