Background
Mita was born in Maketu in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand"s North Island.
Mita was born in Maketu in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand"s North Island.
Mita was from the Māori tribes of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāi Te Rangi. She was the third eldest of nine children and had a traditional rural Māori upbringing. She taught at Kawerau College for eight years, where she began using film and video to reach "unteachable" high school students, many of them Māori.
The experience eventually led her into a lengthy career in the film and television industry.
She also acted in the television adaptation of "The Protesters" written by Rowley Habib. In 1998, Mita herself became the subject of a documentary in the television series "Rangatira: Merata Mita – Making Waves," directed by Hinewehi Mohi.
Mita"s influence among indigenous filmmakers internationally was considerable, through film organizations and film festivals in which she mentored such as the Sundance Film Festival"s Native Film Initiative, the National Geographic All Roads Indigneous Film Festival, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting"s consortium Pacific Islanders in Communications, and through her teaching at the University of Hawai"i, Manoa. In 2009 Te Waka Toi (part of Creative New Zealand) recognised Mita with the Te Tohu Toi Ke – “Making a difference” award.
Mita died suddenly on 31 May 2010, after collapsing outside the studios of Māori Television.