May 24, 2016
Bastion Point doco gets digital life
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision has digitally restored the late Merata Mita’s ground breaking documentary Bastion Point – Day 507.
A copy will be presented to Ngati Whatua on Wednesday, the 38th anniversary of the day police and armed forces cleared protesters from Bastion Point-Takaparawha after a 506 day occupation.
Cinematographer Leon Narbey and co-director Gerd Pohlman will screen the film at Orakei Marae and explain the restoration process.
Honiana Love, the national film archive’s pou arahi, says taking the restoration back to the hapu is the right thing to do in the spirit of giving back and building relationships.
Sharon Hawke, the daughter of Bastion Point occupation leader Joe Hawke, says the film was not shown on New Zealand television until a decade after it was made.
She says the viewing is a tribute to Merata Mita, who fought hard to get the film finished.
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