October 15, 2021
Tame Iti to play himself in Tūhoe raids film
A film about the 2007 Tūhoe raids is set to hit New Zealand screens.
On this day 14 years ago armed police swooped on homes in Rūātoki and other centres to arrest people under suspicion of terrorism.
Activist Tame Iti, who was imprisoned on arms charges which were brought once the terrorism allegations fell through, has teamed up with filmmaker Tearepa Kahi and actor Cliff Curtis to make Muru.
Like Kahi’s previous films Poi E: The Story of our Song and Mt. Zion, it will be released around Waitangi day.
Kahi says it was made with a Merata Mita and Geoff Murphy spirit, a Tame Iti authenticity and a Cliff Curtis commitment to craft.
The te reo Māori language film was shot on location in Te Urewera and Rūātoki, with cinematography by Fred Renata, editing by Academy Award winner John Gilbert and soundtrack by Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper.
Lead Producer Reikura Kahi says Muru is not a re-creation of the events which occurred on October 15th, but a story which weaves the deep past and the recent present together, in order to reach a place of greater understanding.
Muru is the first feature film to be funded under the New Zealand Film Commission’s He Pounamu Te Reo Māori Feature Film Fund.