‘A story that should be told’

Twenty-two people died when Whakaari/White Island erupted in 2019. Jonny Mahon-Heap talks to the American film-maker whose documentary uncovers the untold stories behind the tragedy.

To help capture the devastating stories of those involved in the 2019 fatal White Island/Whakaari parekura (tragedy), US film-maker Rory Kennedy says she drew on her own personal traumas.

Kennedy’s father was the late Senator Robert F Kennedy, who was gunned down in Los Angeles while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination.

‘‘For me, because I have experienced a fair amount of trauma in my own life I have a sense of empathy and compassion,’’ Kennedy said.

‘‘Not that I’ve ever been through something like this but I can relate to the depths of loss and sadness and tragedy that hits unexpectedly. I feel like I could approach it with an open heart.’’

Arriving in Whakatāne to capture the survivors’ testimonies for The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari (which will debut on Netflix on December 16), Kennedy says she also felt echoes of the devastating 2018 Woolsey fires in Los Angeles, from which she had to flee.

‘‘We had to evacuate. I was out of my house for six months. It was not dissimilar in that we really had to ultimately rely on our neighbours and community. There wasn’t really a first responders team or any team that came in. Pretty much nobody showed up.’’

The spectre of tragedy stretches over The Volcano, as Kennedy meets the families impacted by the disaster, in which 22 people died and a further 25 were injured.

She discovered not all survivors wanted to relive the events. ‘‘We went out to a number of people and some didn’t want to participate, which was totally fine. There was no pressure put on [them].

‘‘But I also felt like this was a story that should be told, and I wanted to tell it from the perspective of the people who had experienced it first hand.’’

The film, which Kennedy also produced alongside a trio of famous Hollywood names – Leonardo DiCaprio, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard – features never-before-seen handheld footage from

survivors, a gift for any film-maker. But Kennedy understood she had to be ‘‘sensitive’’ in the editing process to avoid any hint of sensationalism.

‘‘I never wanted to lose sight of the tragic loss of so much life in the making of this. I largely focus on people who survive, but it was important to me to tell the stories of those who didn’t.’’

The Volcano arguably represents new filmmaking territory for Kennedy, whose previous documentaries Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, Last Days in Vietnam, and Ghosts of Abu

Ghraib have highlighted dark corners of recent history. This film showcases acts of bravery from ordinary New Zealanders.

‘‘I think what spoke to me about the project deeply was the humanity of it all. I felt the emotion of what they went through, that they found it in themselves to survive. I think in a situation like that you have to dig deep within yourself for something you didn’t know you had.

‘‘To be with people on that journey where they find it within themselves is a very beautiful and inspiring thing.’’

The legal debate over responsibility is still playing out but Kennedy’s film throws up new questions over the ‘‘truth’’ of that day. ‘‘I didn’t really want to get into the question of who is responsible, in part because this question is playing out in the courts, and this question is probably going to be the biggest legal case in New Zealand’s history.

‘‘But I think the truth is, it’s very complicated. When we touch on it at the end the film, you can see from the range of responses from the couple who were there on their honeymoon who felt they never would have gone had they known how dangerous the island was, to people like Jesse [Langford] who lost his whole family there.’’

One common response to natural disasters of this scope is to better understand our powerlessness in the face of the natural world – and this is demonstrated by the underlying climate message to Kennedy’s work.

‘‘The story to me is that we are all facing these climate events. They’re scary and unpredictable, and they’re happening all around us.’’

As a film about the fundamental strength of the human spirit, Kennedy expressed ‘‘awe’’ at the powers of survival that people found within themselves.

‘‘In the face of the horror, the thing that is quite beautiful to me is all these people who turned around and risked their lives – the helicopter pilots who jumped on their [aircraft], and the boat captains who turned their boats around.’’

The events of December 9, 2019, are a haunting reminder of how such horrors can continue to reverberate and how the victims’ and survivors’ bravery lives on. ‘‘I really feel like this is a story that people don’t know about – and they should.’’

‘‘I think what spoke to me about the project deeply was the humanity of it all. I felt the emotion of what they went through, that they found it in themselves to survive.’’ Rory Kennedy

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari begins streaming on Netflix on December 16.