Activist Helen Kelly getting cancer treatment, leading up to her death in 2016. Photo / Supplied
Activist Helen Kelly getting cancer treatment, leading up to her death in 2016. Photo / Supplied
When Coroner Wallace Bain went to see a film about the late trade unionist Helen Kelly this week, he ended up staring back at himself.
The Bay of Plenty coroner was one of a handful of faces featured in a documentary directed by award-winning director Tony Sutorius titled 'Helen Kelly- Together'.
The film, which follows the last year of the life of Helen Kelly, who died of cancer in 2016, is now showing in 30 cinemas across the country, including Rotorua's Basement Cinema.
Bain said the film was an "outstanding" depiction of Kelly's work to reform workplace safety, conditions and pay for New Zealanders.
"Whether or not you agreed with everything she did ... she was an extraordinary woman."
Bain said Kelly was "hell-bent on getting things improved" and continued "very skilled" work at meetings and hearings right up until her death.
Coroner Wallace Bain at an inquest in Rotorua. Photo / File
"She must have been in enormous pain ... she went far beyond what you would expect of someone."
Kelly was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 2015 and was undergoing treatment for her terminal illness when she agreed to let Tony Sutorius document her last year of activism.
Sutorius continued filming her support for groups nationwide, including families of the Pike River Mine victims and locked out meat-workers, until her death in October 2016.
Bain said he had completely forgotten about Sutorius' filming forestry-related hearings he was overseeing.
He said Kelly's support for families affected by workplace accidents was "vital" in the coronial process.
"It can be quite a convoluted process when you challenge various aspects of safety."
Whakatāne mother Selina Eruera, who also featured in the film, built a close relationship with Kelly after her son Eramiha Pairama, a forestry worker, died at work.
Tokoroa widow Maryanne Butler-Finlay also appeared in the documentary.
Kelly helped Butler-Finlay win justice for her husband Charles, whose death on the job had been ruled as accidental.
Maryanne Butler-Finlay lost her husband Charles Finlay in Tokoroa, in a forestry accident. Photo / File
"She just kind of came flying into our lives saying 'how can I help?'" Butler-Finlay told the Rotorua Daily Post.
"I knew that she was one of those ladies you never miss an opportunity to sit down with."
Kelly would spend time with Butler-Finlay's twin daughters who were in primary school when their father died.
"They would do manicures and pedicures. She was really like our saviour."
Rotorua lawyer Tim Braithwaite - whose work is included in the film - hosted recent screenings to fundraise for the Rotorua Community Law Centre.
Helen Kelly with widows Selina Eruera (middle) and Maryanne Butler-Finlay (right) whose loved ones died in forestry accidents. Photo / Supplied
Braithwaite said feedback about the film had been "really positive" so far.
"A lot of people sort of knew who Helen was vaguely [before watching]. They have been really impressed with the strength and absolute fight she put up for people and causes she believed in."
The film's first screening at the New Zealand International Film Festival last year sold out.
Sutorius said Kelly "showed us that you can act to make real change".
"The first part of that is to engage with people in need as human beings."
The film is now showing at the Basement Cinema for the next three weeks, starting today.
