The Maori Voice, Parts 1 and 2

Produced and directed by Jeff Bear and Marianne Jones
Urban Rez Productions
48 minutes per part • 2007
Available on VHS and DVD

This two-part episode features the Maori storytellers of New Zealand: Barry Barclay, Merata Mita, Tainui Stephens, Don Selwyn, Carey Carter and Vanessa Rare. Over the last century, the Maori voice has remained an essential part of New Zealand forging a unique relationship to a country that bears a striking resemblance to the Canadian indigenous experience. Beginning with politics, then writing, eventually in education, and ultimately through the arts, Maori continue to play a vital role in New Zealand society.

Barry Barclay, Merata Mita, Tainui Stephens and Don Selwyn are pioneers and have inspired other Maori. This documentary looks at their lives, works, and the struggles they faced to get where they are today. It also examines the work of Carey Carter, Vanessa Rare and Ainsley Gardiner who are on the front lines of today's emerging artistic community. They are what Barry Barclay defines as the emerging "Fourth Cinema". It's a concept that fuels some controversy among those whose thinking is governed by a colonial bias, although it is gradually finding acceptance in academia in universities such as Leeds and Auckland, where "Fourth Cinema" is now offered as a course of study. .

Subject(s): Artists, Filmmaking, Indigenous people–Maori