Whale Rider
- Released on
- Runtime
- 101 mins
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.
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.
Cast
- Keisha Castle-Hughes
- Rawiri Paratene
- Vicky Haughton
- Cliff Curtis
- Grant Roa
- Mana Taumaunu
- Rachel House
- Taungaroa Emile
- Tammy Davis
- Mabel Wharekawa
- Rawinia Clarke
- Tahei Simpson
- Roi Taimana
- Elizabeth Skeen
- Rutene Spooner
- John Sumner
- Jane O'Kane
Director
- Niki Caro
Producers
- Tim Sanders
- Frank Hübner
- John Barnett
Screenwriter
- Niki Caro
