Tracking Shots
Close Ups on NZ Film History
Tangata Whenua
He mihi whakanui ki a koutou i nga uri o nga waka whanui i kohangia e i koutou korero whakahirahira e pa ana ki o iwi. Kei te mihi aroha hoki ki a koutou e kui ma, e koro ma kua mene ke atu ki te po, moe mai ra koutou, moe mai ra. He taonga tino ataahua nei ma te reanga e heke iho mai ano.
Na Barry Barclay te kaiwhakatukuata. Na Micheal King te kaikorero mo te tukuata nei.
Direct action pushed Maori concerns and grievances up the political agenda in the 1970s, but Maori on film were still shadowy figures.
A startling exception was Pacific Film's documentary series Tangata Whenua: the People of the Land (1974). These six films about Maori life and culture were directed by Barry Barclay and written and presented by Michael King.
For many pakeha New Zealanders they were a revelation of the complex culture which continued to function alongside their own. And for Maori the respect shown them and their unique perspective on life demonstrated and affirmed their cultural independence.
