Merata Mita

Merata Mita (19 June 1942 – 31 May 2010) was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, and writer, and a key figure in the growth of the Māori screen industry. Mita was the first indigenous woman and the first woman in New Zealand to solely write and direct a dramatic feature film Mauri.

Early life Mita was born on 19 June 1942 in Maketu in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty. She was the third of nine children and had a traditional rural Māori upbringing. She was from the Māori iwi of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāi Te Rangi. She learned that the film and video equipment helped her students with their education as it was a form of oral storytelling, where they could express themselves through various art forms, such as drawing and image. This experience led to Mita's interest in filmmaking. The experience eventually led her into a lengthy career in the film and television industry. Later on, she moved to Hawaii in 1990 and taught documentary film making at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

In 1987, Mita debuted with her first feature-length film, Mauri (1988). The film presents a sharp contrast with the mainstream production industry at its time. Opposite to the common settler narratives in New Zealand cinema, Mauri spikes a challenge to the state authority to reinforce their historical commitment to bi-culturalism and honor the Treaty of Waitangi. Its title, meaning cycles of life and spiritual connection to the indigenous land, is a bold statement of the Maori identity that reaffirms cultural sovereignty and confronts the white Pakeha audience to learn a new mode of storytelling on screen.

Acting Mita played the role of 'Matu' in the New Zealand feature film Utu (1983), which was directed by her husband Geoff Murphy, starred Anzac Wallace, and featured veteran Māori actor Wi Kuki Kaa. She also acted in ]The Protesters, a teleplay written by Rowley Habib.

Political activism through Maori filmmaking Mita's filmmaking has been classified as "Fourth Cinema," a term that was made by New Zealand filmmaker, Barry Barclay. "Fourth Cinema" is described as indigenous cinema created by indigenous filmmakers for indigenous audiences. Moving into these new urban areas made it challenging for many Māori to pass on their cultural traditions to the next generation and consequently, many began to lose their roots and felt pressured to integrate into Pākehā society.

This paved the way for the Māori Renaissance, a transformative movement aimed at expressing the Māori perspective on their challenges and preserving their identity and traditions. Author Stephen Turner writes that the hill in Mita's film Mauri (1988) "[...] has filmic agency. I see it as a central figure and actor, and the vehicle for the 'mauri' (the principle or force of life) of the film's title [...] Fourth Cinema is a medium through which things pass, enabling people and place to be recollected and connected in the viewing experience."

Merata Mita made boldly political films throughout her career as a director and producer. In one of her early interviews, she explicitly expressed the close-knit connection between her personal life and political filmmaking. She made films that represented Māori people and their culture, which were specifically made for Māori audiences. These films were made as a way to encourage young Māori and indigenous filmmakers after viewing these films, which portrayed their people authentically. In 1972, she was a co-director with Ramai Te Miha Hayward of To Love A Māori (1972). An accomplished documentary director and producer for more than 25 years, Mita made landmark documentary films such as Bastion Point: Day 507 (1980), about the eviction of Ngāti Whātua from their traditional land. At the time of the protest, Merata's team was the only media permissioned with filming access from the iwi (tribe), making this a significant case for the Māori control of the image. She also made the feature-length documentary Patu! (1983), about the violent clashes between anti-apartheid protesters and the police during the controversial 1981 South African Springboks rugby tours in New Zealand and Hotere (2001) documented the life and work of well-known Māori artist Ralph Hotere. She also directed the music video Waka for hip-hop artist Che Fu.

Biographic work In 1998, Mita was the subject of a documentary in the television series, Rangatira: Merata Mita – Making Waves, directed by Hinewehi Mohi.

In October 2014, NZ on Air announced funding for a biographical film, Te Taki A Merata Mita – How Mum Decolonised The Screen, to be directed by her son Heperi Mita, for cinematic release and screening on Māori Television. On 28 November 2018, the documentary was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival in their 2019 programme.

International influence Mita's influence among indigenous filmmakers internationally was considerable, through film organisations and film festivals in which she mentored, such as the Sundance Film Festival's Native Film Initiative, the National Geographic All Roads Indigenous Film Festival, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's consortium Pacific Islanders in Communications, and through her teaching at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 2016, the Merata Mita Fellowship was created by the Sundance Institute for native or indigenous filmmakers globally at any stage of their career or production.

Recognition and awards Some of Mita's recognition and awards included the Amiens International Film Festival's "MRAP Award" for her documentary, Patu!, in 1983, Rimini Film Festival's "Best Film" for Mauri in 1989, and the 2010 New Year Honours, when she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the film industry. Mita was also nominated for Asia Pacific Screen Awards' "Best Children's Feature Film" with Ainsley Gardiner, Cliff Curtis and Emanuel Michael, for the film, Boy, in 2010, and for Aotearoa Film and Television Awards' "Best Director - Television Documentary" for Saving Grace - Te Whakarauora Tangata in 2011. Her son Hepi Mita from her longtime relationship with Geoff Murphy produced a documentary Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen on his mother's cinematic legacy which was released in 2018.

Death Mita died suddenly on 31 May 2010, after collapsing outside the studios of Māori Television.

Works Mita directed or collaborated on numerous films and television shows, including:

Films The Hammer and the Anvil (1979) – Co-director, co-producer Karanga Hokianga (1979) – Director, co-editor Bastion Point: Day 507 (1980) – Co-director, co-editor Kinleith '80 (1981) – Community liaison Keskidee Aroha (1981) – Co-director, co-producer The Bridge: A Story of Men in Dispute (1982) – Co-director, Sound Utu (1983) – Role: Matu, Cultural Advisor Patu! (1983) – Director, producer Mauri (1988) – Director, writer, producer Mana Waka (1990) – Director, sound designer, writer The Shooting of Dominick Kaiwhata (1993) – Director, Producer Dread (1996) – Director, writer Te Paho (1997) – Director, writer Hotere (2001) – Director, writer, producer The Land Has Eyes (2004) – Executive Producer Spooked (2004) – Producer, Second Unit Director, Role: Fred’s wife Boy (2010) – Co-producer Saving Grace - Te Whakarauora Tangata (2011) – Director Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen (2018) – Subject

Television shows Women - Māori Women in a Pākehā World (Episode Four) (1977) – Subject Karanga Hokianga ki o Tamariki (1979) – Director, producer Koha (1980-1981) – Director Producer Titiro Mai (1980-1985) – Presenter One of those Blighters (1982) – Role: Sue New Streets - South Auckland, Two Cities (1982) – Research Making Utu (1982) – Subject Loose Enz - The Protestors – Role: Ru New Streets - Auckland Fa’a-Samoa (1982) – Research Koha - Mauri (1987) – Subject Kaleidoscope - NZ Cinema, the Past Decade (1987) – Subject Koha - Nga Pikitia Māori (1987) – Subject Solidarity (1992) – Executive Producer Witi Ihimaera (1997) – Interviewer, Consultant Producer Rangatira: Merata Mita - Making Waves (1998) – Project Advisor, Subject The Magnificent Seven (1998) – Second Unit Director Frontseat - Series Two, Episode 10 (2006) – Subject Kete Aronui - Merata Mita (2007) – Subject 50 Years of New Zealand Television: 7 - Taonga TV (2010) – Subject 50 Years of New Zealand Television: 2 - The Whole World’s Watching (2010) – Subject Taku Rākau e (2010) – Producer 50 Years of New Zealand Television: 1 - From One Channel to One Hundred (2010) – Subject Hautoa Mā! The Rise of Māori Cinema (2016) – Subject