Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand-born film maker Taratoa Stappard didn’t set out to make a horror film. But as he took a dive into the history of colonisation in Aotearoa , it became clear he was writing a ‘Māori gothic’.
“It became apparent to me very quickly as I was writing it and developing it and learning more and more about the colonisation of Aotearoa that it was a horror film,” he said.
“It’s about the horror of colonisation, about the horror of cultural appropriation, perhaps, or theft.”
Ariāna Osborne in Marama.
© Mārama
.
It is the feature film debut of director Stappard, who was born in Aotearoa New Zealand, but has spent most of his life based in the UK.
Ariāna Osborne stars as Mary Stephens, the young woman at the centre of the film. She says it was a part she knew he had to play.
“I remember reading it and thinking, oh, this is perfect for me. I should be doing this film.”
Stappard was intrigued, he says, with the idea of placing a Māori wāhine character outside of Aotearoa.
“This colonised character, if you like, in 1859, taking the fight to the colonisers on their home turf rather than being colonised in Aotearoa ” he told RNZ’s Nine to Noon .
Taratoa Stappard
Supplied
Marama director on his anti-colonial Maori Gothic horror Nine To Noon
Mary is lured to England under false pretences, and ends up as governess to the granddaughter of a whaling magnate, but slowly learns the truth of how and why she’s ended up there.
A dark plot line in the film is when Mary encounters the trade in mokomokai, preserved Māori heads, Stappard says.
“There’s this horrific exchange rate at one stage of one head for one musket.”
Osborne’s character, Mary, begins to learn more about why she’s in England, and more about the man who brought her there, Osborne says.
“She manages to ground herself in her strength and resilience through connecting with her tupuna and understanding more about her whakapapa . Even though that part of her story you’ll find in the film is quite shocking, that connection is where she manages to unleash her power.”
MĀRAMA (Ariāna Osborne), ANAHERA (Evelyn Towersey) and PEGGY (Umi Myers) stand infront of the granite headstone.
Marama
Tikanga , or te ao Māor i principles, were intrinsic to the making of the film, Stappard says.
“Even something as simple as saying a short karakia before each new setup became a bit of a rhythm for the making of the film.
“And I really appreciated that. And I think so did cast and crew. So, it was very important.”
Osborne used karakia to get in and out of character, she says.
“So, at the beginning of the day, I’d have a karakia . And then same at the end of the day, we also had water outside the set for cleansing at the end of shoot.
“But all that stuff was so important because there’s so much painful history that we’re delving into and telling.”
Mārama is in cinemas from 12 February.
Marama director on his anti-colonial Maori Gothic horror Nine To Noon
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
