Whale rider / South Pacific Pictures, Apollomedia, Pandora Film present in association The New Zealand Film Production Fund, The New Zealand Film Commission, NZ on Air and sponsored by Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH ; producers, Tim Sanders, John Barnett, Frank Hübner ; written & directed by Niki Caro.

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The Whangara people believe their ancestor Paikea was saved from drowning by riding home on the back of a whale. The tribal group has since granted leadership positions to the first-born males, believing them to be descendants of Paikea. But then a young mother dies in childbirth along with her newb...

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Bibliographic Details
Corporate Authors: South Pacific Pictures (Firm), ApolloMedia (Firm), Pandora Film (Firm), New Zealand Film Production Fund, New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (Firm)
Other Authors: Sanders, Tim (Film producer), Barnett, John, 1945-, Huebner, Frank, Caro, Niki, 1967-, Castle-Hughes, Keisha, 1990-, Paratene, Rawiri, Haughton, Vicky, Curtis, Cliff, 1968-, Roa, Grant, 1974-, Taumaunu, Mana, 1989-, House, Rachel, Narbey, Leon, 1947-, Coulson, David, Gerrard, Lisa, Ihimaera, Witi, 1944-
Language:English
Language of the Original:
English
Spanish
Language and/or Writing System:
Closed-captioned; sound track in English with optional English and Spanish subtitles.
Published: Culver City, Calif. : Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, [2003], ©2002.
Edition:Special edition.
Series:Rovi Media Collection. Movies.
Subjects:
Grandparent and child > New Zealand > Whangarei > Drama.
Whales > Drama.
Chiefdoms > New Zealand > Whangarei > Drama.
Feature films.
Films for the hearing impaired.
Genre:
Drama.
Feature films.
Films for the hearing impaired.
Physical Description:1 videodisc (101 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Format: Video DVD
Description
Summary:
The Whangara people believe their ancestor Paikea was saved from drowning by riding home on the back of a whale. The tribal group has since granted leadership positions to the first-born males, believing them to be descendants of Paikea. But then a young mother dies in childbirth along with her newborn male son. His twin sister survives and the little girl, Pai, is brought up by her grandparents. Learning the skills of chiefdom from her uncle, Pai shows that she possesses a natural leadership ability.
Note:DVD videorecording.
Originally released as a motion picture in 2002.
Based on the book by Witi Ihimaera.
Special features: behind-the-scenes featurette; filmmaker's commentary; deleted scenes with optional director commentary; soundtrack showcase.
Videorecording.
Call Number:PR9639.3.I5 W43 2003 VideoDVD
AN1 D0030021 VideoDVD
Audience:
MPAA rating: PG-13; for brief language and a momentary drug reference.
Awards:San Francisco International Film Festival, 2003: Audience Award Best - Narrative Feature (Niki Caro).
ISBN:1404943722
9781404943728
Credits:Director of photography, Leon Narbey ; editor, David Coulson ; music, Lisa Gerrard ; costume designer, Kirsty Cameron ; production designer, Grant Major.
System Details:DVD, Region 1 encoding, Dolby digital; widescreen format (aspect ratio 2.35:1).
Cast:
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Roa, Mana Taumaunu, Rachel House.