The story behind the groundbreaking film about the New Zealand Wars, and its battle for funding.
Temuera Morrison in Ka Whawhai Tonu. Photo: Trigger Marketing / supplied
The groundbreaking film Ka Whawhai Tonu goes to cinemas this Matariki weekend, with high hopes of a box office success after eight years of development and several funding rejections.
The pivotal 1864 battle of O-Rākau in the New Zealand Wars in Waikato is told through the eyes of two young teenagers caught up in the chaos of the battle.
It is the first feature film to tell a piece of history from the Māori perspective, in te reo - and that made it difficult to secure funding, says lead producer Piripi Curtis.
"Everyone's going, 'sounds good, but am I going to get my money back? No, it's too risky'," he says.
Speaking to The Detail at his family home on the shores of Lake Rotoiti in Bay of Plenty, Curtis says one of the challenges was convincing the Film Commission that three first-time feature filmmakers could pull it off.
"They have trust issues," says Curtis. "They need to know that you're not going to take the money and throw it away."
It declined funding at least three times, but continued to support the film's development.
Lead producer of Ka Whawhai Tonu, Piripi Curtis, at home in Lake Rotoiti. Photo: Sharon Brettkelly
The film was made on a budget of $7.6 million, half the Film Commission's recommended $15 million, but Curtis says it was all they could scrape together. It included $2.5 million from the commission's Te Rautaki Māori fund, as well as smaller amounts from Te Mangai Paho, NZ on Air, and Te Puni Kōkiri's Te Pūtake o te Riri which raises awareness about the New Zealand Land Wars.
The team also went to friends and family, and applied for grants and sponsorships, but it was the 40 percent Screen Production Rebate that got the project over the line, Curtis says.
"We tried every avenue. We've been out there and gone to a lot of places," he says.
He even tried BNZ after learning more about the role of its founders, particularly that of Thomas Russell, in funding the New Zealand Wars in Waikato.
"I went to the BNZ bank and said 'hey, how about you help out with our publicity as a way to front foot your role in the NZ land wars because people are still hurting from it'.
"So I got as far as the third tier, but he couldn't get past his own boss who was in the second tier and then of course there's the top tier boss.
"So I guess I really wanted to say how miserable the BNZ has been in responding to their own history of devastation and blood, and they couldn't even front up with some cash."
In response the BNZ says it "receives numerous requests for funds or sponsorship for various commercial and philanthropic projects and [is] unable to support them all".
Curtis says the box office takings this weekend are important to this film and future projects in this genre.
"If we make this a box office success, especially in the Matariki weekend, we get to change the funding landscape for our films because no one's funding our films. So if we can prove that this is a sound financial investment we'll be able to see more of our own stories, which is really crucial."
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