Once Were Warriors was an internationally successful film that honestly opened the eyes of cinema goers to an unexamined aspect of modern New Zealand life. Lee Tamahori's visceral and hard hitting depiction of gang and domestic violence amongst an urban Māori whānau was adapted from the best-selling Alan Duff novel by screenwriter Riwia Brown. Produced by Robin Scholes, the film provided career-defining roles for Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen as Jake the Mus and Beth Heke.
Communicado
Included in the Top 5 NZ Feature Films collection and the Matariki Collection.
This is a brutal tale of an urban Māori whānau falling apart as patriarch Jake abuses his rage and Beth struggles to hold the family together in a South Auckland slum. The important film captured the attention of not only "shaken and silent" ...
Available on DVD from ScreenLine and at Aro Video.
gangs, sexual abuse, urban māori, domestic violence, family, prospecting, momori, māori, whānau, suicide
Best Entertainment Website
Finalist – Website design
Qantas Media Awards 2009
NZ ON SCREEN 2010
This website has been made with funding from NZ ON AIR ›
The synopsis and credits are included
