Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen

88 mins | Documentary | Jan. 28, 2019

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.

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen

88 mins | Documentary | Jan. 28, 2019

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
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.
IMDb rating 7.7
Producers New Zealand Film Commission
Original title Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
Directors Hepi Mita
Writers Hepi Mita, Tearepa Kahi

Cast

Merata Mita

as Self (archive footage)

Hepi Mita

as Self / Narrator

Rafer Rautjoki

as Self

Rhys Rautjoki

as Self

Awatea Mita

as Self

Eruera Mita

as Self

Jesse Wente

as Self

Heather Rae

as Self

Sterlin Harjo

as Self

Pauline Clague

as Self

Blackhorse Lowe

as Self

Taika Waititi

as Self

Desmond Tutu

as Self (archive footage)