Whina will be released in cinemas on June 23. video/Transmission Films
The trailer for the feature-length biopic of Dame Whina Cooper has been released ahead of its release at Matariki later this year.
Whina tells the inspirational story of Dame Whina Cooper, New Zealand's Te Whaea o Te Motu (The Mother of the Nation), her tumultuous life journey and unshakeable inner strength that led her to become one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most remarkable leaders. Whina's life's purpose for racial equality and land rights culminated in leading a sacred hīkoi (march) over six hundred kilometres, from the top of New Zealand to the national parliament in Wellington, to unite Māori pride and Pākehā honour.
“You get some of that [The Land March], but more a flavour than anything else, because most of what you get is the taste of a woman, of an individual who was committed, who was a loving person who succeeded and failed, and succeeded in love and who was a woman of faith. These personal motivations come to the fore with the making of a film like this,” says Tainui Stephens, one the films producers.
The film stars Rena Owen, Miriama McDowell and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne who play Dame Whina in different eras. Stephens says casting an iconic Māori figure requires a skill that someone such as Rena Owen has, but their wairua for the role was also needed, something he says the three display in their performances.
“Particularly it’s the relationship between Rena and Miriama where we’re intercutting between the era of the 1975 and Rena as an old lady, and Miriama as a younger adult. So to maintain a suspension of belief when you’re poppong in between eras like that, two discernably different people, that’s something to think about.
The film was made with the full support of Whina’s family represented by Hōhepa Cooper, Hinerangi Cooper-Puru and Moka Puru. Whina’s iwi through Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa also embraced the ambitious production. Her mokopuna Irenee, who most people would recognise from the photograph of Dame Whina beginning the hīkoi from Te Hāpua to Wellington in 1975, became the films Executive Producer, and Stephens says was a crucial bridge between the whānau and the production.
“We had lots of time with the members of the family, in particular her son Hōhepa, daughter Hinerangi and her husband Moka who are three fabulous kaumātua from home. It was just wonderful to sit and talk with them about their mother as a person.
“I never forget one time, Hinerangi she walked me around her living room, her and Moka’s living room and showed me pictures of her mum and stuff like that. There was one particular photo and she went to me like this ‘my mum was no raggedy ann!’ making the point that she was always well presented.”
That relationship and hunger for attention to detail resulted in some of Dame Whina’s personal hats being worn in the film.
"One of Hinerangi’s mokopuna worked in the wardrobe department. There were those kinds of connections all over the place," he says.
While the film delves into the personal life of Dame Whina, her public life, notably her life-long struggle for Māori rights is also a feature.
“A point Hōhepa made to us is their family is more than just the Coopers or the Gilberts of Hokianga. Because they view the 1975 marchers as very much family as well, so the way they view the film is also important to us.”
The production team enlisted also the help of Cyril Chapman, who carried the pouwhenua alongside Dame Whina during the land march to get an insight into the iconic moment in Māori Land Rights history.
Stephens said one of the more light-hearted reflections of the production is how hard it is to get historical authenticity.
"We had to work hard to get our actors and actresses to say Maoree, because that's the way Maoree was spoken back then. Kāore anō kia tū mai ngā whawhai mō te reo, i reira ngā whawhai engari Kōhanga Reo those came later." (The fight for te Reo Māori was in its infancy, Kōhanga Reo etc, those came later.)
“I remember one scene at Te Pūea, he wahine mau moko kei toku taha, ka kōrero mai a Rena tana kōrero, tahi ka kī mai te kuia nei kia au ‘oh she can’t pronounce the reo very well’ i kata māua. Those little things of authenticity are peppered all through the film in all sorts of ways.” (A woman with a moko kauae was standing next to me, and when Rena delivered one of her lines this kuia said to me ‘she can’t pronounce the reo very well’ and we both laughed.
Whina opens in New Zealand cinemas on June 23. Stephens says Rena Owen's performance alone is one reason people should watch.
“Rena makes me cry! I te whakaaro hoki au mō Rena, mo Miriama mō Tīoreore mīharo ake nei tōku ngākau me te rongo i tētahi wairua. (When I think of Rena, Miriama and Tioreore my heart is full of joy.)
“Ahakoa te tini o ngā wā kua kite e au tērā kiriata nā Rena hoki au e tangi tonu nei. E tangi ana mō te kuia, i tana tū i roto i te whakapapa, i tana tū ki te whawhai mō tana aroha, mō tana mamae kua noho pouaru nei.” (And although I’ve seen the movie a number of times now, Rena still makes me shed tears. They’re tears for Dame Whina and her stand for whakapapa, her fight for love, and her sorrow as a widow twice-over during her life.)