Top 10 NZ Feature Films
NZ On Screen has selected an all-time NZ feature film Top...
The Matariki Collection
A selection of iconic Māori TV, film and music video for...
The Taika Waititi Collection
From acting to funny accents, to directing blockbuster...
The NZ Film Commission turns 40
A collection celebrating 40 years of the NZ Film...
The Coming-of-Age Collection
From The God Boy to Boy, plus singers, whale riders and...
Eagle vs Shark
Taika Waititi’s first feature
The Dead Lands
Also stars James Rolleston
Poi E
This song features in the film
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Taika Waititi also directed this
Two Cars, One Night
Taika Waititi's short film that helped inspire Boy
The Dark Horse
Also stars James Rolleston
Tama Tū
Short film directed by Taika Waititi
What We Do in the Shadows
Taika Waititi's bloody next movie
40 Years
Phoenix Foundation clip directed by Taika Waititi
French Letter '95
This song features in the film
The Jaquie Brown Odyssey - Brownward Spiral (Episode Seven)
Also features a stoned Taika Waititi
The Power of Music (Te Kaha o Te Waiata)
Music documentary set on the East Coast
The Living Room - Series Two, Episode Ten
Taika presents this Living Room episode
Mauri
Another East Coast story by co-producer Merata Mita
Pulp Comedy - Series Seven, Episode Three (Taika Waititi)
Taika Waititi’s stand-up comedy
Whale Rider
Another tale of a Māori East Coast childhood
Vigil
Another film revolving around a child’s view of the world
Out on the Street
Boy song 'Out on the Street' is on this ep of New Faces
Frosty Man and the BMX Kid
Also stars James Rolleston
NZ On Screen - See Us Go
A scene from Boy features in this NZ On Screen promo
Viewfinder - 12 April 1984
More breakdancing from the mid-80s
Pork Pie
James Rolleston went on to star in this
Dancing with the Stars - Paul Holmes excerpt (Series Three, Episode Four)
More Michael Jackson inspired dance
Captain's Log - First Episode
Documentary on the East Coast of the North Island
Status Pending
Another film where the director also acts on-screen
Lost Boys of Taranaki
Documentary about a Taranaki youth programme
Radiradirah - First Episode
Taika Waititi worked on this in the same period
Taika Waititi's blockbuster second movie revolves around an imaginative 11-year-old East Coast boy (James Rolleston) trying to make sense of his world — and the return of his just-out-of-jail father (Waititi). Intended as a "painful comedy of growing up", Boy mixes poignancy with trademark whimsy and visual inventiveness. The film was shot in the Bay of Plenty area where Waititi partly grew up. A winner in its section at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival, Boy soon became the most successful local release on its home soil (at least until the arrival of Waititi's 2016 hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople).
Produced by
Whenua Films
Availability
Available to rent and buy from NZ Film On Demand
More information
Acknowledgements
Made in association with the NZ Film Commission, NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho
Music
Original score written by Lukasz Buda, Samuel Scott and Conrad Wedde. Performed by The Phoenix Foundation
Closing song 'Poi E' performed by Patea Maori Club
Soundtrack includes 'Mum' and 'Karu' performed by Prince Tui Teka, 'Aku Raukura' performed by Patea Maori Club, 'French Letter' and 'Dragons & Demons' performed by Herbs, 'Out on the Street' performed by Space Waltz