La collection Māori-Made

Back in 2017 some of us at Cinema Politica tried to find the ground-breaking film Mauri by Merata Mita on line for streaming. We had heard of this Māori gem, the first female-directed Indigenous fiction feature, and wanted to rent or purchase it, but soon discovered it was not available in Canada. After contacting the New Zealand Film Commission, we soon agreed on a partnership where CP would distribute six Māori-made titles from the NZFC’s rich filmography (along with one non-Māori director), MAURI among those we would make available for the first time in Canada. We are beyond thrilled that after much hard work we are releasing the following outstanding Māori films online and beyond! Among the complex, provocative and stunning titles below, audiences will discover works by Barry Barclay, the Māori artist and intellectual who coined the term “Fourth Cinema” and who said the following words: “How can we take that maverick yet fond friend of ours—the camera—into the Maori community and be confident it will act with dignity?” (Our Own Image, 1990).