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This is a book which can be read many ways.It is the curated memories of a beloved wahine Māori who readers will enjoy getting close to. She is a master of understatement when talking about loved ones: “I saw Dick coming towards me, also in a hurry, also alone. We stopped and talked. He asked me to go to the movies with him, and I agreed. He has been the man in my life ever since.” In one wry anecdote, we are treated to the image of this 80-year-old national treasure taking flight in stork position at yoga, relying on the broad feet inherited from her grandmother. The delicate rendering of landscapes, especially around her house and her ancestral land at Hongoeka, north of Wellington, transport you to the place where she is most at home.
Why has it taken so long? That s a question I haven t been able to get out of my mind.
Cousins is the third feature film in history to be directed by wāhine Māori. The first was
Mauri by Merata Mita. That was 32 years ago – before I was even born. The second was
Waru in 2017, a feature film made up of eight ten-minute short films written and directed by Māori women filmmakers. I have spent the last ten years telling stories as a writer and journalist, doing my best to decolonise the space I am in, while at the same time advocating for sovereignty over our stories. As Māori, we need more of our stories told, but more importantly, we need to be telling our own stories.