TO LOVE A MAORI

TO LOVE A MAORI was produced and directed by husband and wife Rudall and Ramai Hayward.

Described by Rudall as "a romantic documentary made on half a shoestring", it was his seventh, and last, feature and the first in New Zealand to be made in colour.

TO LOVE A MAORI tells the story of Tama and Riki, two young men who leave their country marae for Auckland and the racial discrimination they face once they arrive in the city. Intended as a dramatic documentary highlighting the problems and successes of Māori urban migration, the film portrays many of the social problems of the times.
The film centres on the love story between Tama and Penny, a Pākehā student dancer whose parents strongly object to their association, and their struggle against the intolerance they encounter.

Locations used included Ponsonby, Port Waikato, Auckland Harbour, the Firth of Thames, Waipū, Titirangi, Pt. Chevalier, Hadfield’s Beach, Howick, Stillwater and the East Coast.

“The best thing about Mr Hayward’s film is that it depicts with fidelity an important phase of life and experience in ‘the largest Polynesian city in the world’. This film was yelling out to be made. Mr Hayward, crowning a lifetime in cinema, has made it with distinction” - ‘Film has honest message to stir New Zealand’; Whakatane Beacon, 9 February, 1972.