Merata Mita facts for kids

Merata Mita (born June 19, 1942, died May 31, 2010) was a very important filmmaker from New Zealand. She was a producer and writer too. Merata played a huge role in helping the Māori film and TV industry grow.

Merata Mita's Early Life

Merata Mita was born on June 19, 1942. Her birthplace was Maketu in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty region. She grew up in a traditional Māori way in the countryside. Merata was the third of nine children in her family. Her family belonged to the Māori iwi (tribes) of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāi Te Rangi.

Merata Mita's Filmmaking Journey

Merata Mita taught at Kawerau College for eight years. She started using film and video to help students who found school difficult. Many of these students were Māori and Pacific Islanders. She learned that film and video helped them learn. It was like a way of telling stories, where they could show their ideas through art. This experience made Merata interested in filmmaking.

She began her film career by working with film crews. She helped foreign filmmakers connect with Māori people. Merata soon realized that these filmmakers were telling Māori stories. She decided she wanted to tell her own people's stories herself. Merata started by working as a sound assistant and sound recordist. People noticed her hard work and talent. This led her to a long career in film and television. In 1990, she moved to Hawaii. There, she taught documentary filmmaking at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Merata Mita was the first indigenous woman to write and direct a feature film by herself. She was also the first woman in New Zealand to do this. Her film was called Mauri (1988). Her filmmaking style is known as "Fourth Cinema." This term was created by New Zealand filmmaker Barry Barclay. "Fourth Cinema" means films made by indigenous people, for indigenous audiences.

Before the 1970s, most films about Māori people were made by Pākehā. Pākehā are white European New Zealanders. Māori culture was often misunderstood or shown in ways that reflected colonial ideas. The 1970s brought big changes in New Zealand. People started looking more closely at how Māori were treated. This was partly due to global movements like women's rights and anti-racism. But the main reason was that many Māori moved from their traditional lands to cities. It became hard for them to pass on their culture in these new places. Many felt pressure to fit into Pākehā society.

This led to the Māori Renaissance. It was a movement to share the Māori point of view. It also aimed to protect their identity and traditions. Merata Mita's film Mauri (1988) was part of this. Author Stephen Turner said that a hill in Mauri acts like a character. He saw it as a main part of the film. It carried the "mauri," which means the life force, of the film's title. Fourth Cinema helps connect people and places through the film experience.

Merata wanted her films to be about decolonization and indigenization. This means showing Māori people and their culture in an honest way. Her films were made especially for Māori audiences. She hoped they would inspire young Māori and indigenous filmmakers. She wanted them to see their people shown truly on screen.

In 1972, she co-directed To Love A Māori with Ramai Te Miha Hayward. Merata was a skilled documentary director and producer for over 25 years. She made important documentaries like Patu! (1983). This film showed the violent clashes during the 1981 Springboks rugby tours in New Zealand. These tours were controversial because of South Africa's apartheid policy. She also made Bastion Point: Day 507 (1980). This film was about the Ngāti Whātua people being forced off their land. Hotere (2001) was a film about the famous Māori artist Ralph Hotere. Merata also directed the music video Waka for hip-hop artist Che Fu.

Merata Mita's Acting Roles

Merata Mita also acted in films. She played 'Matu' in the New Zealand film Utu (1983). Her husband, Geoff Murphy, directed this film. It starred Anzac Wallace and Wi Kuki Kaa. She also acted in The Protesters, a TV play written by Rowley Habib.

Documentaries About Merata Mita

In 1998, a documentary was made about Merata Mita. It was part of a TV series called Rangatira: Merata Mita – Making Waves. Hinewehi Mohi directed this episode.

In 2014, NZ on Air announced funding for a film about her life. It was called Te Taki A Merata Mita – How Mum Decolonised The Screen. Her son, Heperi Mita, directed it. The film was shown in cinemas and on Māori Television. In 2018, this documentary was chosen for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Merata Mita's Global Impact

Merata Mita had a big influence on indigenous filmmakers around the world. She mentored filmmakers through different organizations and festivals. These included the Sundance Film Festival's Native Film Initiative. She also worked with the National Geographic All Roads Indigenous Film Festival. She taught at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as well. In 2016, the Merata Mita Fellowship was created by the Sundance Institute. This fellowship helps native or indigenous filmmakers globally.

Merata Mita's Awards and Recognition

Merata Mita received many awards and honors.

• In 1983, she won the "MRAP Award" at the Amiens International Film Festival for Patu!.
• In 1989, Mauri won "Best Film" at the Rimini Film Festival.
• She received the "Leo Dratfield Award" for her documentary work in 1996.
• In 1999, she got the "Mountain Award" from the Taos Film Festival.
• In 2009, she received the Te Tohu Toi Ke – "Making a difference" Award from Creative New Zealand.
• In the 2010 New Year Honours, she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. This was for her great work in the film industry.
• She was nominated for "Best Children's Feature Film" for Boy in 2010.
• She was also nominated for "Best Director - Television Documentary" for Saving Grace - Te Whakarauora Tangata in 2011.
• The National Geographic All Roads Festival created the "Merata Mita Award" in her honor in 2010. This award celebrates excellent storytelling.

Merata Mita's Personal Life

Merata Mita had seven children. Their names were Rafer, Richard, Rhys, Lars, Awatea, Eruera, and Hepi. Her fourth son, Lars, sadly passed away when he was 11 months old. Her son Hepi Mita, from her long relationship with Geoff Murphy, made a documentary about his mother's film legacy. It was released in 2018.

Merata Mita's Death

Merata Mita passed away suddenly on May 31, 2010. She collapsed outside the studios of Māori Television.

Merata Mita's Works

Merata Mita directed or worked on many films and television shows.

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