In collaboration with 'The Medium is the Message' exhibition, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and Gus Fisher Gallery present this special screening of 'Bastion Point: Day 507' followed by an audience discussion with Sharon Hawke of Ngāti Whātua.

Merata Mita, Leon Narbey and Gerd Pohlmann’s powerful documentary Bastion Point: Day 507 depicts the eviction of protestors from Takaparawhā (Bastion Point) on the Waitematā Harbour, Auckland. Ngāti Whātua occupied the land from January 5 1977 until May 25 1978. On the 507th day, 222 protestors engaging in non-violent resistance were arrested. Ten years after this documentary, the first historical claim heard by the Waitangi Tribunal was by Ngāti Whātua for the Orākei block land.

“This film is the total opposite of how a television documentary is made. It has a partisan viewpoint, is short on commentary, and emphasises the overkill aspect of the combined police and military operation. It is a style of documentary that I have never deviated from because it best expresses a Māori approach to film making.” – Merata Mita

This event is free and open to all, but bookings are required.

Image credit: Bastion Point Day 507 (1980). From material preserved and made available by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Courtesy of Ngāti Whatua, Leon Narbey, Gerd Pohlmann, Mita and Hawke Whānau.