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.
Genre: Drama, Family Actors: Cliff Curtis, Elizabeth Skeen, Grant Roa, Jane O'Kane, John Sumner, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Mabel Wharekawa, Mana Taumaunu, Rachel House, Rawinia Clarke, Rawiri Paratene, Roi Taimana, Rutene Spooner, Tahei Simpson, Tammy Davis, Taungaroa Emile, Vicky Haughton Directors: Niki Caro Production: ApolloMedia, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand Film Production Fund, NZ on Air, Pandora Film, South Pacific Pictures
