Stunning NZ Films You Should Know About
“New Zealand certainly brings a fair few ‘bests’ to the table. Aside from being one of the most beautiful countries in the world, responsible for some of the greatest exploratory and scientific minds,…
Tag Archives: Once Were Warriors
New Zealand Movie at 2016 Berlin Film Festival
The New Zealand movie Mahana/The Patriarch is one of the ten movies at the 66th Berlin Film Festival The Guardian is most looking forward to. The Patriarch, set in the 1960s, was shot…
A Love Of All New Zealand Movies
“To the unaware, movie titles like Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors are well-made, entertaining yarns about Maoris. But to Charles Eggen, 78, they rank among his favorites — not just because they’re good…
American Cinematheque to Honour Cliff Curtis
New Zealander Cliff Curtis, 47, who portrayed speed chess genius Genesis Potini in The Dark Horse, will be honoured by the American Cinematheque at a ceremony on 11 October at the Aero Theatre in…
How Actor Cliff Curtis Avoids Playing ‘Repetitive Stereotypes’
New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis has played interesting roles over the years. In 1999 he “hit a kind of American cinematic jackpot” with his work on Michael Mann’s The Insider, David O Russell’s Three…
Rena Owen’s Hollywood Revival
On the telephone from her West Hollywood apartment New Zealand actress Rena Owen says the biggest misconception about her life in Los Angeles is that she leads one of movie-star luxury. “The amount of people…
Lee Tamahori Teams up with Adrien Brody on Emperor
Director Lee Tamahori is in the Czech Republic filming Emperor, a movie based on 16th century Roman ruler Charles V and starring A-lister Adrien Brody. The 64-year-old director of cult 90s film Once Were Warriors…
Violent Realism
Wellington-born director Lee Tamahori insists that his scripts are already dripping with violence when he gets them. His latest movie, The Devil’s Double tells the story of Latif Yahia, an Iraqi military officer who…
Tamahori’s double
Director Lee Tamahori’s latest film The Devil’s Double, a story about the body double for Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, will premiere at next year’s Sundance Film Festival. Tamahori, 6, best known for the 1994…
Maintaining meaning
Each year, Whakatane ta moko artist Rangi Kipa has some 2 clients fly into the country from the UK or Europe eager to make a statement with a unique Maori tattoo. Kipa says the…
Laughter in Waihau Bay
Taika Waititi’s Boy recently won the Best Feature Generation Film award at the International Filmfestspiele in Berlin. The festival’s website describes it by saying – ” difficult…
Pioneer Storyteller
The death of ground-breaking NZ filmmaker Mike Walker was noted in the Scotsman, Miami Herald, and LA Times. Walker worked asa director, co-producer and co-writer on the films Kingi’s Story, Kingpin and…
Return of the Native?
As Whale Rider premieres in the UK, the Guardian ponders its impact as NZ and Maori cinema, and the cultural factors at play. “longside the celebration in New Zealand’s film industry, there has also…
The many faces of Cliff Curtis
Tribune feature on Cliff Curtis tracks his career trajectory from Once Were Warriors to Whale Rider. While the two movies appear vastly different in subject and style, Curtis is quick to point out a…
What becomes of the faint-hearted?
Monica McWilliams of Northern Ireland’s Women’s Coalition names Once Were Warriors as her all-time favourite flick in a survey by Belfast Film Festival organisers. She describes it as “a powerful role for a…
Scarfies in Shanghai
Five recent NZ films – Once Were Warriors, Scarfies, The Price of Milk, Magik & Rose, and Jubilee – hit Chinese screens June 8 – 22 in China’s first NZ film festival.
The Empire Strikes Back
The SMH finds Tem Morrison carrying the antipodean banner in the new Star Wars blockbuster, Episode II: Attack of the Clones – the latest installment of George Lucas’s epic fantasy: “The best…
Must do Today: Production, Script, Light
Wellington-born Richard Curtis penned the Bridget screen adaptation: one of Britain’s “cleverest screenwriters” in LA Times and “a virtuoso at devising horrific embarrassments for his protagonists,” in Slate. Rounding out the kiwi trio, Stuart…
