Whale Rider writer/director Niki Caro and co-star Cliff Curtis came together in Los Angeles last week to remember their landmark 2002 Kiwi film.
At a special screening on the eve of the American premiere of Curtis’ new film The Dark Horse, he and Caro acknowledged the enduring impact of Whale Rider on their lives.
“I was in Whangara recently to go see Koro,” Caro said after the screening. “Not the guy from the movie [played by Rawiri Paratene], the real guy, who was very inspirational and very helpful to me. And so I guess as a Pakeha person to be so welcomed into a Maori community and the Maori world, to work collaboratively and to be so inspired. That’s the best thing that’s happened to me as a New Zealander, it really is. If I can capture a little bit of that magic and share, then I consider it work well done.”
“It’s an elegant portrayal of our traditional values,” agreed Curtis. “I don’t think I can be more eloquent than the film is itself. I don’t know what I can add after watching it. The minute it starts rolling I get homesick. That beautiful, humble, authentic way of life. Those beautiful little communities that I grew up in. It helps to feel connected to something and give me a sense of purpose in terms of storytelling. Killing zombies is fun and everything, but…”
In addition to the well-received American release of The Dark Horse, Curtis is currently starring in the second season of zombie drama Fear The Walking Dead. Caro recently shot an adaptation of Diane Ackerman’s World War II non-fiction book The Zookeeper’s Wife starring Jessica Chastain.
Whale Rider star Keisha Castle-Hughes is also doing pretty well these days, so well in fact that she had to pull out of her planned appearance at the screening. She will next be seen in Cameron Crowe’s new TV show Roadies.
Hosted by Kiwi actress Antonia Prebble and attended by a mixture of American and Kiwi faces (including Temuera Morrison and Zoë Bell), the Whale Rider screening at the Silent Movie Theater in West Hollywood was the first event put on by NZCINEMALA, a new outfit backed by distributors Curious Film.
“NZCINEMALA will be a bi-monthly event here in LA to celebrate NZ cinema,” says Stephen Fitzgibbon of Curious Film. “It’s an opportunity for Kiwis to get together and also members of the US industry and beyond. Through cinema we have a unique opportunity to tell our very distinct cultural story. With NZCINEMALA we now have a platform to share that story with potential US creative partners. Our website will go live over the coming weeks and we will have some exciting screenings to share.”
