First Contact (1983 film)
"First Contact" is the first documentary in what later became known as "The Highland Trilogy". The other two films are "Joe Leahy's Neighbours" (1989) and "Black Harvest" (1992). These three films, between them, have won some thirty major awards, included each film winning both the Grand Prix at the Festival Cinéma du Réel in Paris and AFI Award for Best Documentary.
Cinema of New Zealand
Merata Mita was the first Māori woman to write and direct a dramatic feature film, when she directed "Mauri" in 1988. An accomplished documentary film-maker, Mita made landmark documentaries including "Bastion Point: Day 507" (1980), about the occupation of land there, and "Patu!" (1983), a film about the controversial and violent anti-apartheid protests during the 1981 Springboks rugby tour from South Africa.