TE AWA TUPUA - VOICES FROM THE RIVER (2014)
The Moutoa Gardens protests of 1995 were a huge event, one of the defining NZ events of the decade, yet today they are an event which don’t get a lot of attention in the mainstream media. Te Awa Tupua - Voices from the River, from director Paora Te Oti Takarangi Joseph, is a reminder of those 79 days, the circumstances which led to the protest, and their lasting impact on the people of Whanganui.
nziff.co.nz
Te Awa Tupua recounts the political battle between the Crown and Iwi over the ownership of the Whanganui River, stretching back to the original 1873 claim through the tumultuous 1995 occupation right up until present day. It’s certainly an important subject, one which is deserving of this kind of treatment, and Joseph structures the film in such a way that it never becomes too dry or bogged down in political procedure.
It’s always important to look back at events and understand their circumstances and importance to the time, but the true value of Te Awa Tupua is in the later sections, when Joseph addresses how the Moutoa Gardens occupation has carried on in later years. The side-effect of the unique circumstances that led to the occupation was that, for the first time in a generation, Māori of all ages had a reason to gather in large numbers and stand together. Much is made of the place of the river to the Whanganui Iwi, and the metaphor of the many tributaries coming together to form an indomitable whole is a powerful one.
So it is that the second half of Joseph’s film is dedicated not to looking back, but to the current and future generations and the vitality of traditional Māori community in Whanganui. Te Awa Tupua documents the lingering impact of a difficult time, interviewing a number of younger tangata whenua about their engagement with their Iwi. There’s a hopeful resolution to the saga of the river ownership through a piece of 2013 legislation, but this story is bigger than one river, ultimately becoming a celebration of the close ties of modern Māori society.
It’s always important to look back at events and understand their circumstances and importance to the time, but the true value of Te Awa Tupua is in the later sections, when Joseph addresses how the Moutoa Gardens occupation has carried on in later years. The side-effect of the unique circumstances that led to the occupation was that, for the first time in a generation, Māori of all ages had a reason to gather in large numbers and stand together. Much is made of the place of the river to the Whanganui Iwi, and the metaphor of the many tributaries coming together to form an indomitable whole is a powerful one.
So it is that the second half of Joseph’s film is dedicated not to looking back, but to the current and future generations and the vitality of traditional Māori community in Whanganui. Te Awa Tupua documents the lingering impact of a difficult time, interviewing a number of younger tangata whenua about their engagement with their Iwi. There’s a hopeful resolution to the saga of the river ownership through a piece of 2013 legislation, but this story is bigger than one river, ultimately becoming a celebration of the close ties of modern Māori society.
Te Awa Tupua is playing at NZIFF 2014, see the website for details.
