Public Screening: Tātarakihi: The Children of Parihaka

Hosted by Parihaka Network: Ngā Manu Kōrihi Ōtautahi, Te Raranga and St Albans Baptist Church and part of the Beca Christchurch Heritage Festival 2019, this film is dedicated to the memory of all who have carried the kaupapa of non-violent resistance taught by Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi.

Rating: E (Exempt); child-friendly. Running time 65 minutes. Free/koha.

The film is a true story of war, non-violent resistance and the children of Parihaka who will never forget. Speaker is Puna Wano-Bryant, uri of Parihaka Papakainga Trust. A question and answer session will be run at the end. Supper will be served.

In 2009, a group of Taranaki children were taken on a bus trip to visit the places their ancestors, non-violent resistors from Parihaka in the 1880s, were imprisoned and forced into hard labour. Many of these ancestors did not make it home again.

Along the way, prisoners were welcomed at local marae by descendants of local Māori who provided the prisoners with support. Destinations included Addington Prison in Ōtautahi Christchurch, the old Lyttelton Gaol and Ripapa Island. Addington Prison was also where Parihaka leaders, Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi, were taken on their arrest.

The children's road trip was an emotional journey, documented by Paora Joseph's camera and the children themselves. The narration is by the children, from their writing, poetry, song and art, expressed in a workshop after the journey.

Producer/director Paora Joseph says, "while it recounts days of darkness, Tātarakihi: The Children of Parihaka carries a sense of restoration and hope, and I hope it enables continued dialogue for understanding and mutual respect of both Māori and Pākehā in the New Zealand we know today."