Tatarakihi - The Children of Parihaka

Due to popular demand, the Film Festival has scheduled 2 additional screenings at Rialto in Dunedin on Tues 14 Aug at 10.30am and Monday 20 Aug at 7.15pm. Bookings and trailer here: http://www.nzff.co.nz/wellington/film/99b9f12c-2da3-4ff4-a663-a260bd6a7b75

This film, described by NZ Herald’s Peter Calder as a “modest and affecting road trip doco”, and is very highly recommended by Graeme Tuckett in the DominionPost, was shot largely in the South Island.

In 2009, a group of Taranaki children were taken on a bus trip to visit the places their ancestors, passive resistors from Parihaka in the 1880s, were imprisoned and forced to labour in. Places like Addington Jail in Christchurch and various buildings and roads they worked on in Dunedin. Along the way, they were welcomed at local marae by descendants of local Maori who supported the prisoners at the time. It was an emotional journey, documented by Joseph’s camera and the children themselves. The narration is by the children, from their writing, poetry, song and art, expressed in a workshop after the journey.

Children, known at Parihaka as “tatarakihi” (cicadas), after their chattering noise, have a special place in the village’s history. In 1881 the children of Parihaka greeted the invading Armed Constabulary with white feathers of peace, in accord with the philosophy of passive resistance taught by their two leaders, Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi

Producer/director Paora Joseph: “While it recounts days of darkness, Tatarakihi – The Children Of Parihaka carries a sense of restoration and hope, and I hope it enables continued dialogue for understanding and mutual respect of both Māori and Pākehā in the New Zealand we know today.

“This film is dedicated to the memory of all who have carried the kaupapa of passive resistance taught by Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi.”