Whale Rider
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.
Movie tag line: "In the ways of the ancients she found a hope for the future."
Production companies:
- South Pacific Pictures
- Pandora Film
- ApolloMedia
- New Zealand Film Production Fund
- New Zealand Film Commission
- NZ on Air
- Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
