Hinemoa (1913 film)
- For the 1914 film of the same name, see Hinemoa.
| Hinemoa | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gaston Méliès |
| Produced by | Gaston Méliès |
| Written by | Edmund Mitchell |
| Starring | Maata Horomona |
| Cinematography | George Scott |
Release dates |
|
Running time |
1000 ft or 2 reels ca. 24 minutes |
| Country |
France New Zealand |
| Language | Silent |
Hinemoa was a silent film made in New Zealand by Gaston Méliès in 1913. It is probably the first feature film produced in New Zealand, although it is doubtful that it was ever screened in the country. It is one of the very first silent films made in New Zealand.[1]
Plot
No copy of Hinemoa survives, but the film would have told the story of the legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.
Background
In 1912, the Méliès brothers' company Star Film was in some financial strife, as a result of which Gaston Méliès travelled to the South Pacific in search of fashionably exotic locales, people and stories.[2]
Hinemoa was one of five two-reel films screened in New York in 1913; probably including three other 1913 films he shot in New Zealand, Loved by a Maori Chieftess, How Chief Te Ponga Won His Bride and The River Wanganui. Méliès sent his film to the United States for post-production treatment, so it is doubtful if any were shown in New Zealand. Several other films shot by Méliès on the expedition failed to survive the tropical humidity.
See also
- Hinemoa (1914 film) - New Zealand produced and released film by George Tarr a year later.
References
- ↑ Film New Zealand - history
- ↑ The History of Ethnographic Film by Emilie de Brigard, in Principles of Visual Anthropology ed. Paul Hockings, 1995 ISBN 3-11-012627-3