The Whale Rider
The Whale Rider is a book by New Zealand Maori author Witi Tame Ihimaera.The movie Whale Rider is an adaptation of the book, with the author's involvement. It was released in New Zealand on January 30, 2003. The world premiere was on September 9, 2002, at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie's plot follows the story of twelve year old Pai (or Kahu, in the book), who is the only living child in the line of the tribe's chiefly sucession because of the death of her twin brother and mother during childbirth. By tradition, the leader should be the first-born son - a direct patriarchal descendant of Paikea: the one who rode atop a whale from Hawaiki. However, Pai is female.
While the plot of the book is basically the same, it pays less attention specifically to Pai/Kahu, and mainly focuses from a perspective of narration by the girl's uncle.
Produced by South Pacific Pictures, on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island, the movie has received highly favourable praise from international critics and audiences. The movie has won a number of international film-festival awards, including:
- the Toronto International Film Festival's AGF Peoples Choice award in September 2002
- the World Cinema Audience award at the January 2003 Sundance Film Festival in the United States
- the Canal Plus Award at the January 2003 Rotterdam Film Festival.
See Also: New Zealand literature, New Zealand cinema
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