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Download AudioOne of the producers of the Whina Cooper biopic says it was a big story to tell.
Becoming Whina premieres in Auckland tomorrow.
Tainui Stephens says it’s tough to tell 100 years of life in 100 minutes, but great writers and a great cast and crew helped.
He says Te Whaea o te Motu had a big life after the 1975 Maori Land March, and an even bigger life before it – but there was also a love story.
“Love is very, very big in her life so it’s by going for that personal dimension I think we explain how she approached all these other big beats, these big political moves, these other actions she took in her life and so by concentrating and distilling down to the essence of the person we got the change to tell this bigger story and keep a relative simplicity about it,” Mr Stephens says.
Becoming Whina will be in theatres from June 23.
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