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Whale Rider
Whale Rider
Film (Trailer and Excerpts) – 2002 Adaptation Drama Māori
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The Silent One
Another relationship between a child and a sea creature
Behind the Scenes of Whale Rider
Making of documentary
Opo
Actor Rawiri Paratene and a dolphin
The Lost Whales
Documentary about southern right whales
Kaleidoscope - Witi Ihimaera
Film about Whale Rider author Witi Ihimaera
Boy
Another tale of a Māori East Coast childhood
Jubilee
Cliff Curtis's first lead role in a feature film
The Day Morris Left
A short film starring Rawiri Paratene
Bad Note for a Heart
Straitjacket Fits music video directed by Niki Caro
E Tipu e Rea - Variations on a Theme
Short drama featuring Rawiri Paratene
Ngāti Porou East Coast 2001 - True Colours
A documentary on an East Coast community and their rugby...
Footage
Directed by Niki Caro
The Wall
Directed by Whale Rider’s casting director Diana Rowan
The Vintner's Luck
Also starring Keisha Castle-Hughes and directed by Niki Caro
For Arts Sake - Waiora
Rawiri Paratene also stars in this play
The Insatiable Moon
Rawiri Paratene stars
Joe and Koro - High Society
Also starring Rawiri Paratene
Illustrious Energy
Directed by Whale Rider cinematographer Leon Narbey
Old Bastards
Short film directed by Niki Caro
Va Tapuia - Sacred Spaces
Also shot by Leon Narbey
The Orator - O Le Tulafale
Also shot by Leon Narbey
Kaitangata Twitch - First Episode
Another determined young female Māori protagonist
12 Bar Rhythm 'n Shoes - Series Two, Episode One
Also features Vicky Haughton
Kiwi Flyer
Kiwi kids’ movie
Aroha: A Story of the Māori People
An earlier tale of a Māori woman caught between modernity...
Mt Zion
Another generational culture clash
Arriving Tuesday
Also stars Rawiri Paratene
White Lies
From the same producer and author
Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Another adaptation of an Ihimaera story
The Dark Horse
Also stars Cliff Curtis
The Almighty Johnsons - First Episode
Also stars Castle-Hughes
Among the Cinders
Another NZ-Germany co-production
Frontseat - Who Can Play Māori
Discussion on actors playing other races and iwi
The Graffiti of Mr Tupaia
Also starring Rawiri Paratene
Ihimaera
Documentary about a musical project inspired by Witi...
The Painted Lady
A short film also starring a child actor
Beyond the Known World
Another international coproduction
Witi Ihimaera: Roimata Toroa
Witi Ihimaera returns home
Swagger - Series Four, Episode One
Swimming with whales off Tonga
Ngā Tamatoa: 40 Years On
Rawiri Paratene presents this 2012 documentary
Winners & Losers: Big Brother, Little Sister
Another adaptation of a Witi Ihimaera story
A Whale Out My Window
More whales
in beTWEEN - Politics
Rawiri Paratene talks about whales in this kids show
Aroha - Irikura
Cliff Curtis acts in this teleplay
Set in the East Coast town of Whāngārā, Whale Rider tells the tale of a young Māori girl, Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), who challenges tradition and embraces the past in order to find the strength to lead her people forward. Directed and written by Niki Caro, the film is based on Witi Ihimaera's novel The Whale Rider. Coupling a specific sense of place and culture with a universal coming-of-age story, Whale Rider became one of the most successful and acclaimed New Zealand films released internationally. It also won audience choice awards at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals.
The genius of the movie is the way it sidesteps all of the obvious cliches of the underlying story and makes itself fresh, observant, tough and genuinely moving ... this is not a simplistic fable but the story of real people living in modern times.– Roger Ebert in a Chicago Star-Times review, 20 June 2003
Availability
Available on DVD from South Pacific Pictures
Available to buy and rent from NZ Film On Demand
World premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, on 9 September 2002
More information
Acknowledgements
Made with financing from the NZ Film Production Fund, the NZ Film Commission, Filmstiftung NRW (Germany) and NZ On Air