---
name: "Merata Mita"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/merata-mita"
fi1m_id: "merata-mita"
imdb_id: "nm0593039"
tmdb_id: 1019226
wikidata_id: "Q6817957"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "19 June 1942"
died: "31 May 2010"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T01:12:22.955954+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Merata Mita

## Identity

Merata Mita

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/merata-mita
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** merata-mita
- **IMDb ID:** nm0593039
- **TMDB ID:** 1019226
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6817957
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merata_Mita, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6817957, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0593039/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1019226

Actor. Born 19 June 1942 in Maketu, New Zealand. Died 31 May 2010.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 19 June 1942, Maketu, New Zealand
- **Died:** 31 May 2010
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merata_Mita, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6817957, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0593039/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1019226

## Biography

Merata Mita (19 June 1942 – 31 May 2010) was a New Zealand filmmaker, director, producer and writer of Māori descent. Born in Maketu, she belonged to the Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāi Te Rangi iwi and became a central figure in the development of the Māori screen industry.

She began her career in the late 1970s with documentaries including *Bastion Point: Day 507* (1980) and directed the feature-length documentary *Patu!* (1983) about the 1981 Springbok tour protests. Mita acted as Matu in Geoff Murphy’s *Utu* (1983), on which she also served as cultural adviser. In 1988 she wrote, directed and produced *Mauri*, the first dramatic feature film made solely by a Māori woman in New Zealand.

She received the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to the film industry and later worked as a co-producer on *Boy* (2010).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nzonscreen.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Utu* (1983), Fi1m 74, as Matu — [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)

## Complete filmography (17)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *March* (2020), Director
- *Saving Grace - Te Whakarauora Tangata* (2011), Producer, Director
- *Papa Mau: The Wayfinder* (2010), Executive Producer
- *My Weaponry* (2010), Producer
- *Boy* (2010), Co-Producer
- *Spooked* (2004), Producer, Second Unit Director
- *The Land Has Eyes* (2004), Executive Producer
- *Hotere* (2001), Writer, Producer, Director
- *Dread* (1996), Director, Writer
- *Mana Waka* (1990), Director, Writer
- *Mauri* (1988), Director, Producer, Screenplay
- *Kaleidoscope* (1987), as Subject
- *Patu!* (1983), Producer, Director
- *Utu* (1983), as Matu — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/utu.md)
- *Bastion Point: Day 507* (1980), Director, Producer
- *Keskidee Aroha* (1979), Director, Producer, Screenplay
- *The Drum*, Writer, Director

## Gallery

- ![Merata Mita](https://film.one/media/person/3924630/gallery-183f91faa120.jpg) Merata Mita — Image via TMDB
- ![Merata Mita](https://film.one/media/person/3924630/gallery-cd43dfefa5ea.jpg) Merata Mita — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/merata-mita