• Jan 30, 2003
  • 101 min
  • Full-HD

Whale Rider (2003)

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Category
Country
Germany New Zealand
Companies
South Pacific Pictures Pandora Film ApolloMedia New Zealand Film Production Fund New Zealand Film Commission NZ on Air Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen

Keisha Castle-Hughes

Paikea Apirana

Rawiri Paratene

Koro

Vicky Haughton

Nanny Flowers

Cliff Curtis

Porourangi

Grant Roa

Uncle Rawiri

Mana Taumaunu

Hemi

Rachel House

Shilo

Taungaroa Emile

Willie

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