This a rare opportunity to see Te Kooti Trail (1927) on the big screen. Organised by Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi in association with the exhibition Te Taniwha: The Manuscript of Ārikirangi, the screening of this silent film has an experimental format in which four musicians—Simon Eastwood, double bass; Hannah Neman, percussion; Rob Thorne (Ngāti Tumutumu), taonga puoro; and Elliot Vaughan, viola—will perform live in the cinema.
Produced by Whakatane Films Ltd., Te Kooti Trail is based on the historical account of Te Kooti Ārikirangi Te Turuki in historian James Cowan’s second edition of The New Zealand Wars. In Cowan’s description of the sacking of Mill Farm at Te Poronu, director Rudall Hayward saw a blueprint for the next phase in his ambition to produce films in New Zealand which would rival the American Western.
The film has a complex history and is very much ‘of its time’. It gave rise to the first incident of film censorship in Aotearoa at the request of Ringatū kaumatua, who objected to one scene and two intertitles which were subsequently removed and amended prior to its release. Yet the film also featured a largely Māori cast descending from the Urewera region, selected for their physical resemblance to the characters they played. Hayward also sought advice from elders in order to verify details of his historical account. Responding intuitively to the film in situ, the musicians' live response will not only make for a lively evening but will also seek to give expression to the ambivalences we have in revising early accounts of our history.
Te Kooti Trail has been preserved and made available by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, courtesy of the Hayward Collection. This screening is generously supported by Roxy Cinema.
Start time
October 11, 2019 6:00PM
End time
October 11, 2019 8:00PM
Location
The Roxy Cinema
5 Park Road, Miramar
