From Screen to Page! Our new book, Heart of the Protest, is a powerful behind-the-scenes look at New Zealand’s historic Freedom Convoy of Waitangi Weekend 2022 and the Parliament protest that followed.
Please help us print as many copies as possible by pre-ordering the book. Free shipping or delivery on all pre-orders. [$39] DELIVERY OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2025!
FORMAT: 240mm x 170mm, 410pp, 70 full-colour photos, paperback.
WORD COUNT: 145,000
Following the success of the documentary River of Freedom, a new book of the film, offers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most significant public uprisings in modern New Zealand history. Co-authored by the film’s director, Gaylene Barnes, and writer, Siân E. Clement, the much-anticipated Heart of the Protest, explores one of the country’s most polarising moments.
Delving deeper into the reasons behind the 2022 Parliament protest it features exclusive interviews, fact-checked references, first-hand accounts and personal reflections. This book captures not only what happened—but why it still matters.
This story also hears from the filmmakers—how they came together on Parliament lawn to document and ensure a visual cinematic record was professionally produced. With no major distributor and media silence, the crowd-funded documentary River of Freedom become a grassroots hit. Despite screening at only a handful of rural cinemas, audiences travelled from far and wide to see it, and on 21 September 2023 it became the most-watched film in the country.
Barnes and Clement give voice to the diverse cross-section of society who set up camp on Parliament’s lawn and were ignored by politicians, maligned by media, and ultimately shut down by force.
“Writing this book was about honouring the courage of everyday people who stood up and said, ‘enough’,” says co-author and film director Gaylene Barnes. “They weren’t just protestors. They were nurses, teachers, builders, plumbers, farmers—mothers, fathers and grandparents wanting to be heard.”
“The book inspects a pivotal chapter in New Zealand’s political history from inside and outside Parliament,” says Clement. “It’s not just a retelling of what happened, it’s a reflection on who we are, what we stand for, and what kind of future we want.”
