PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT
T H E B A T T A L I O N
SCREEN SPECIAL
- IN DEVELOPMENT
The Battalion is a powerful work about friendship, loyalty, and the lost innocence of youth
- where the adventure of war is played out to the bitter end.
There has been, in recent years, a renewed public interest in the Māori Battalion and in national ANZAC day commemorations. There has been a huge increase in adults enrolling in courses to learn Te Reo and petitions to resource and teach more Reo and NZ History in our schools.
Many members of the Māori Battalion were just kids, as young as 15, when they left for WWII, and seeing these soldiers portrayed by actual rangatahi, of that age, is a powerful and sobering experience. These rangatahi completely inhabit the world of the production. With their passion and aroha, they give back to us new understanding, new perspectives and the opportunity to heal the wrongs of the past.
Our vision for The Battalion is a theatrical length screen-event.
A screen version of the stage production of The Battalion will be an emotional and rewarding experience for audiences.
“There is something poignantly moving about watching kids of diverse cultures acting out roles
that their grandparents, great-grandparents or in this case, given how young they are,
great great grandparents lived for real.
At one stage my hair is prickling at the back of my neck and I feel tears welling… ”
Maraea Rakuraku for Theatreview
T H E B A T T A L I O N
PUBLISHED SCRIPT & EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE
THE BATTALION will be available at the end of 2022 as a published script and educational resource.
