Seeking the Lost - Early NZ related film material in French audio-visual archives
Early NZ film footage was found by Steve Russell, Mediaplex Manager, New Zealand Film Archive, when he visited Paris-based film archives after receiving a grant from the Fund. Among footage located by Steve were scenes of New Zealand troops inspecting a captured German tank, and footage of the Pioneer (Maori) Battalion on parade in Paris.
An especially significant fragment of film was found at Gaumont Pathe Archive. Simply catalogued as a newsreel film, “Scenes of Maori Life”, the footage originally formed part of the feature film The Romance of Hinemoa. The Film Archive thought it held the only surviving footage, discovered in a garden shed outside London in 1981, but is now working with Gaumont Pathe to hopefully identify further material.
An especially significant fragment of film was found at Gaumont Pathe Archive. Simply catalogued as a newsreel film, “Scenes of Maori Life”, the footage originally formed part of the feature film The Romance of Hinemoa. The Film Archive thought it held the only surviving footage, discovered in a garden shed outside London in 1981, but is now working with Gaumont Pathe to hopefully identify further material.