Coming off critical praise after it’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and now beginning its Australian theatrical run, Muru is a film from New Zealand that centres around the horrific government raids in Tuhoe in 2007, which left many innocent indigenous New Zealanders dead.
But, as you will hear in this conversation with the film’s director, Tearepa Kahi, and actor/activist, Tame Iti (who plays himself in this fantastic film), there is a much deeper story than just the events of one day, and how the government oppressed a group of people who had been silenced for far too long.
Nick: I just heard that Muru won the Cultural Diversity Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Academy awards, and that your movie was submitted for Best International Feature at the Oscars – so firstly congratulations! And deservedly so, because I think this film is incredible!
Tearepa Kahi: Thanks, Nick. That’s awesome to hear! Thank you so much!
Nick: My first question today is about the title of the film – Muru. I’d love to know firstly, what does ‘muru’ mean, but more importantly what does the word mean to you both?
Tearepa Kahi: ‘Muru’ is a big concept that involves… you could almost say retribution. Moving through retribution towards forgiveness. So we’re bypassing that place into a place where, hopefully through this film, there’s an opportunity for redemption and healing to take place, and that’s what ‘muru’ means in this respect.
Tame Iti: It’s a huge opportunity for us to tell and share our story. To be able to come here to you in Australia, our neighbours and tell you. They need to see it; they need to hear it and they need to feel it. I think the film is able to reach right into the solar plexus and them right in the guts in a creative way. Even when I watched it myself, it took my third viewing to really get the crux of things. When I finished watching the movie myself, I had a certain anxiety that I don’t normally get. I was focusing on my performance. Did I say things right? Rather than getting to the crux of the story. And it took that third one, and I got it.
And remember, this is so real for me. It’s not just makeup. The red dots on me, the guns, getting thrown to the ground. That’s all real for me. People were listening to us, monitoring our house, bedroom, cars, in the bush. I experienced all of that. And people were assuming things because I had a different view. I had a voice and I wanted to say something for a long time. And for us to be given the opportunity now, going over to Toronto or South Korea and here Aotearoa. I think it’s an interesting period of time for to be able to show this particular film.
Tearepa Kahi: Here is what ‘muru’ means: when something has gone wrong, how do we put it right.
Nick: That’s an incredible way to put it! The opening text of Muru states that this movie isn’t a recreation of the raids, but a response. And Mr. Iti, you mentioned the timing of which this movie is getting release, and the fact that even though Muru is set during one event, there’s still both written and unwritten history behind this story that led to these events. Mr. Kahi, can you elaborate on what you meant by saying this is a response, rather than a recreation?
Tearepa Kahi: That’s a great point, because this really isn’t about the events of a single day. This is about multiple events over a century. So that has been carefully and deliberately layered and sewn into the fabric of this film. The opportunity here is not to say: ‘Hey, 2007 was an overreaction.’ This is to say that this course of action by our government has been ongoing. This has occurred and it is repeated too often already. So, Muru is also, as a piece of art, a huge step forward for our culture. It’s almost, you know, an insurance policy for the protection of our village against this course of action ever taking place again.
Nick: I love that you mentioned this as a piece of art, because one things I was really taken by in Muru was the songs the Rama sing, and the songs they use to tell the stories of people like Rua Kenana. And I was looking to your art exhibitions, Mr. Iti, and obviously as an established filmmaker yourself, Mr. Kahi – why is art such a powerful vehicle for telling indigenous stories and unwritten histories?
Tame Iti: I find that it is a really safe space, and creating a safe space for us to feel comfortable and in control of the way you put things. I want to try and control the event, and how I use the colour blue or the colour yellow. To be able to capture those moments, it has to have a feeling! It can’t just be all around, stuck in your head. We all experience different experiences and whether it’s through our nose or through touch.
And it took me a long time to just see art as a way for me to do it! We all have to experience things for us to be able to totally understand exactly where we are heading. Art is in us, not because we asked to learn about art. We say it’s in our blood, it’s in our soul. It’s an intricate part of how we do things and bring about the magic! There is no one way of doing things. There are many elements of us that we are able to, you know, avoid the landmines in front of us! And this is what Tearepa has come up with and has given us the opportunity to come and have chat with you today.
Nick: And I am so grateful to be having this chat with you! Because like you said, art is powerful and this movie is incredibly powerful! I’d love to get your thoughts on this too, Mr. Kahi! Was this always the artistic way you wanted to tell this story? And what influences pushed you in the direction of your visual style and how you constructed the story?
Tearepa Kahi: When I first started, it was a very faithful depiction of the events of one day [laughs]. And the reason I’m laughing is because my background is New Zealand history! I’ve made a lot of documentaries, and we always think to tell the truth. But, with this story, there is a deeper truth. I needed to tell the bigger truth. Our government chose to base their information in a real misleading lens, and they just went all in on it. They made this egregious error.
So, when the opportunity is in telling the truth, are we supporting this error? Is that the story that we want to tell? This falsehood that they are terrorists. It became about how do we strip that and take those layers away to deepen the story. And at a meeting that Tame had organised, one Aunty stood up and she said: ‘Boy, is this a story about one day?” And I said, yes. Because, at the time, I thought I was faithful, I thought I had nailed it! That they were going to love the script. I knew the events beat for beat, the whole tempo, the structure, every chronological sequence! I’d done all the research. I knew too much!
But, that was a waste of time, I was missing the point. She goes: “Well, they’ve been doing this to us for over a century. You have an opportunity to tell the bigger story.” And after that, the best move I made was having a tea with Tame, and we screwed up the script and started again. And that was a difficult task! Especially after you’ve poured everything into this. In one perspective, we’ve taken liberties, but at another point, we arrive on the emotional truth of an experience, of a century’s worth of action taking against Tame and his people. We wouldn’t have been able to get there any other way.
Nick: To wrap up, and without spoiling anything, I want to ask about the final moments of the film. After the action and tension in the climax, we go back to the school bus with the school kids and finish the film there. For me, it was heartbreaking, but there was a beautiful sense of hope because throughout Muru, there is an amazing sense of unity in this community. Can you talk me through your reasoning as to why you chose to end the film on that scene?
Tearepa Kahi: Oh, Nick! I love what you said – unity through the community. That is the ‘why’ as well. In many ways, we drive this bus all the way inside the valley, so the audience is going to have this visceral, emotional, never before seen experience through this film and the journey it goes on. But, to end it on the bus with the school kids is the beating heart of the story. And it is very hopeful because it’s something that happened that will never be forgotten, and the next steps are so important.
Thank you so much to Tearepa and Tame for their time, and thank you to Rialto Distribution for giving me the chance to chat with them! Muru is playing in select theatres across Australia from October 13.
