Director Gaylene Preston documents the making of Utu, Geoff Murphy’s ambitious Western set during the 1870s land wars. Murphy likens filmmaking to football—“set up the event and cover it”—but the process proves far more complex. From remote set construction to explosions, extras in cardboard hats, and culturally sensitive recreations of a tangi, Making Utu delves into the challenges of filmmaking in the early 1980s.
