Filming the Colonial Past: The New Zealand Wars on Screen

Filming the Colonial Past tells a story of filmmakers’ fascination with the New Zealand Wars over the past 90 years. From silent screen to smartphone, filmmakers have made and remade the stories of this most troubling past. In the 1970s and early 80s, thinking about race, nation, and empire was changing; Maori advisers and performers were actively sought out. In the late 1980s and 90s, screen industry deregulation brought new challenges. Filming the Colonial Past shows how documentaries and feature films negotiated these hurdles. Today, the growth of Maori creative control signals a new era. From these sources come documentaries from Maori perspectives. Each production is a snapshot of a complex cultural moment. Cooper illuminates a path of cultural change through successive generations of filmmakers.

Annabel Cooper is Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Gender and Social Work at the University of Otago.