Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

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major shaping force on New Zealand culture. 461 Those sympathetic to such a venture
may see Ward as one of the first of a new wave of Pakeha filmmakers to take a serious
interest in Maori culture; those less sympathetic can see it as the working-out of an oldfashioned
Romanticism in search of exotic otherness. Herzog’s and Wenders’ films
about remote tribal peoples have polarised critics in the same way. Ward would return
to similar territory in later projects (Map of the Human Heart and his current film in
progress).
Ward discusses the process by which he came to choose Puhi and her relationship with
Niki as his theme in his DipFA dissertation. He was interested in making a film about
some aspect of Maori culture, but decided that since he knew so little about the topic, he
would need to do a great deal of reading – both fictional and historical, and view many
films in order to reach some understanding. The Tangata Whenua series was a source
of information but, according to Ward “like other films, it bore little relationship to
what I was envisaging”. 462 He was initially unsure whether the film would be a
documentary or a drama. Typically, he spent a long time making the decision, on
complex, intuitive grounds.
His first approach to the Maori community was a visit to Ruatahuna, the heart of the
Tuhoe, but the visit was unsuccessful in that he went alone without knowing anyone in
the area, and was consequently “greeted with suspicion”. Realising that he needed
introductions and contacts, he then visited a number of Maori in Wellington, but once
again, this led to nothing. He finally contacted some of the people involved in making
Tangata Whenua, specifically Michael King and Keith Hawke who were very helpful in
suggesting contacts who could help him begin the project. Of those suggested, Sam
Karetu, senior lecturer in Maori at Waikato University, and John Rangihau, a Tuhoe
leader, gave their support. Karetu arranged for Ward to stay with an elder at
Waikaremoana, and Rangihau invited him to visit a landcourt at Waiohau. 463
Ward made four trips in the course of his research, travelling more than 6,000 miles.
The first three journeys were “concerned more with general research and background
461 Lynette Read, interview with Vincent Ward, 11 November, 1997.
462 Vincent Ward, “A Documented Account of the Making of In Spring One Plants Alone,” DipFA
(Hons), University of Canterbury, 1979, Section on Pre-Production, Research Period 20 January – 11 July
1978.
463 Ward, “A Documented Account of the Making of In Spring One Plants Alone,” Section on Pre-
Production, Research period 20 January -11 July 1978.