Ava DuVernay’s distribution collective recently acquired the documentary “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen,” produced by filmmaker Chelsea Winstanley, during the Sundance Film Festival. The film, which first screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival last year, is about Merata Mita, the pioneering Māori filmmaker. Mita’s son Hepi Mita, an archivist, directed the film.
Winstanley is an award-winning film producer and director from New Zealand. She’s produced “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Jojo Rabbit” and was on the team of Māori women who worked on “Waru,” a film about child abuse set in the Māori community. Winstanley co-produced Merata Mita’s domestic abuse doc “Saving Grace, Te Whakarauora Tangata” soon before the filmmaker’s death in 2010.
We chatted with Winstanley about her partnership with both Mita and DuVernay, her work on “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen,” and filmmaking in New Zealand vs. Hollywood.
W&H: First of all, congratulations on the acquisition of “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen” by Ava DuVernay’s film distribution company, Array. What has it been like working with DuVernay and how did this relationship come to be?
CW: It’s a new relationship. I first met Ava at a private screening for “Baby Driver.” I was there with a friend and I saw her coming towards us to get a seat. It wasn’t a star-struck moment but I had admired her as a woman who is fearless about her drive for inclusion, as someone who’s opening her own door. She possesses that beautiful prophecy of self-belief.
After the screening, I introduced myself and was specifically referencing “13th” because in that documentary, she really examined the current situation of incarceration rates of African American people, men and women, and that’s very much in line with the situation that’s occurring in New Zealand. In our population, 15 percent are Māori and over 50 percent are in prison. It’s an abhorrent statistic, we are reminded of every day about inherent racism and racial profiling. So, I wanted to thank her for making such a powerful film.
When my team found out we were going to Sundance, I started to think about who I wanted to represent “Merata” in America. I didn’t think of anyone else but Ava. I had also been to one of her Array screenings in LA for “Jewel’s Catch One” and liked her approach. It was a real event. She puts an emphasis on celebrating her films. I really think that Ava has a very unique and clever way to engage an audience. She understands the messages and she also champions the filmmaker. Ava’s philosophy is totally in line with Merata’s legacy.
You have to feel like there’s something bigger and greater out there that is guiding the process. We felt like that the whole time we were making this film because Merata had passed away. She was such a strong woman and influence on women and film, and her own community. I’m sure that if she didn’t like that I was choosing Array, she would have somehow made it known in a spiritual way. It just feels like it’s been a wonderful, easy process.
W&H: Merata Mita was a voice for the underrepresented community. You seem to be following her in her footsteps. How important is it for you to tell stories like this?
CW: It’s really important. My background is in documentary filmmaking. I started as a director and fell into the producing role quite naturally. In some ways, I was regretful that I had given up my creative dream to carry on directing. But over time, I believe that all good things happen for a reason. Maybe I needed to marinate in that producing role for a while and understand the business a bit better. Now I have the skills of a producer to get things done and actually get things happening. In hindsight, now it serves me in a better way. I’m also a more mature storyteller now. I’m in my 40s and have a few kids. I’m more measured and more mature about the stories I want to tell.
To say that I’m walking in Merata’s footsteps — wow, man, that is huge. I’m so grateful to have known her. She influenced a lot of us coming through. She and I were actually making “Saving Grade, Te Whakarauora Tangata” when she died. I feel so lucky to have been by her side and to have learned from her, though it was a for a short time. But now having produced this documentary with her son, learning so much more about the woman and where her passions came from, so much struggle and adversity. I can’t wait for you to see the film. So many have people have resonated with it because she represents so many different people’s stories.
W&H: You are a dedicated mother of three. A child of divorce. One who endured the pain of sexual abuse. You lost your ability to walk and solo motherhood all before you graduated from college. You are incredibly resilient.
CW: Yes, I went back to college when I had a two-year-old son. I knew I had to go back and continue my education. Something about storytelling and the truths kept coming up for me, so I had to follow it, whatever that was. During that year, I had a car accident and had to learn to walk again.
W&H: It’s almost like motherhood. It takes you out for a short time and you have to make a comeback, so to speak.
CW: That’s so true. We forget to remind ourselves that it’s going to take time to get back into it. It really is two to three years of exhaustion. As a mother, you just get on, you keep going.
W&H: What is it like being a woman in Hollywood today, a working mom specifically and also a New Zealander with so much history and passion?
CW: I’m pretty new to the whole place, to be fair. I only made my first short film last year, which I’m editing now. Hollywood is really different. It feels like a big creative pool and you can go in so many ways. It’s like a train station — people are coming and going out. I realize that while I’m here, it’s important to enjoy the ride.
I had never lived anywhere outside of New Zealand before I arrived. When I first came over, I only had an O-3 Visa which was a visa of a spouse who has a working visa [her husband is film director Taika Waititi], so I wasn’t allowed to work. It was okay at the time because I was working to finish “Merata” from overseas. I’ve just gotten my O-1 Visa which enabled me to do that short film at the end of last year. Now I can really jump into this world of Hollywood and put myself out there like I hadn’t necessarily been able to do before.
Kiwis are kind of withdrawn. People might think we don’t seem to blow ourselves up so much, which I think is a good and bad thing because we don’t necessarily put ourselves forward. Half the time, we just sit back and hope people will notice us. In Hollywood, people are so open and they want to tell you everything about what they are doing and they are also equally interested in finding out what you’re doing. It’s quite a refreshing place, especially as a woman, when you are trying to reinvent yourself. Back home, I’m known as a producer primarily, but here I can say that I’m a director and that I write, as well. No one has labeled me as such when they meet me. It’s very affirming.
W&H: In terms of the #MeToo movement, I read that you were sexually harassed on the set of “One Land” in New Zealand. How has that experience and being vocal about it impacted you?
CW: It was because of the #MeToo movement that I actually said something. A lot of it [the secrecy] is around shame. I might have also been triggered to talk about it by my childhood sexual abuse. You felt so vulnerable because you didn’t have the support network — unlike now. At the time, I was surrounded by so many men on the set. The producers were men, the main head director was a man, the crew was made up of men. Who was going to believe me? I had a friend who was a Māori sound guy and I broke down and told him. He kept me safe [on the set].
When the abuse is happening, you feel a lot of shame because you wonder if you did something to provoke it. It’s a shame that we feel shame. A woman shouldn’t feel like she’s done anything or deserved these actions. We are not responsible for the actions of others. What I love about the #MeToo movement is allowing us to not feel the shame because it’s a community of people embracing everyone’s pain. It’s so empowering to realize that there’s a community out there who understands.
W&H: What is the most rewarding part of your career to date and what continues to inspires you?
CW: “Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen” is definitely the most rewarding film I’ve ever worked on — being able to work on something where a woman goes through so many struggles and triumphs like she did. She was so raw and honest about the toll it took on her family.
Merata was doing something bigger than just for herself. She was reacting to what was going on in her community. She was representing underserved communities. Being a part of that and taking the story out into the world has been incredible. It’s so moving. For me, personally, as a filmmaker and producer, being able to hang my hat on this particular film for a while, because I do want to step away from producing, is important. I feel like Merata has got my back and she’s telling me to do it.
Finishing this film is helping me literally leap off into that dream. We all go through tough times. I love that quote that Bob Dylan’s grandma said [from his autobiography “Chronicles, Volume One”], “Be kind because everyone you’ll ever meet is fighting a hard battle.” It’s so true. It makes you have more compassion for people and real empathy. I just keep thinking about the wonderful things Merata did and her story keeps me going and it inspires me.
