Whale Rider (2002)

Directed by

Niki Caro

Genre

drama film, family film, coming-of-age film

Country

New Zealand, Germany

Runtime

1h 37m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.0 of 10 from 449 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A twelve-year-old Maori girl wants to become the leader of her tribe. Her grandfather refuses because the role is traditionally only for boys.

inspiringheartfeltgentlespiritualhopefulemotionalintimateresilientmeditative

What happens

Whale Rider is a 2002 New Zealand drama film written and directed by Niki Caro, based on the 1987 novel by Witi Ihimaera. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather believes that this is a role reserved for males only. A coproduction between New Zealand and Germany, the film was shot on location in Whangara, the setting of the novel. Whale Rider had its world premiere on 9 September 2002 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It received critical acclaim upon its release and was a commercial success, earning $41.4 million on a $3.5 million budget. At the 76th Academy Awards, Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress, at age 13. In 2005, the film was named on the BFI list of the "50 Films You Should See By the Age of 14". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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