Released Date:
2003-08-29
Languages:
English, Maori
Countries:
New Zealand, Germany
Runtime:
101 min
Rated:
PG-13
IMDB Ratings:
7.7 (32931 Reviews)
Director:
Niki CaroNiki Caro
Witi Ihimaera (book)
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.
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