As the global film industry continues to bounce back from Covid-19 and the Hollywood strikes of 2023, reo Māori films found success at Aotearoa’s box office this year.
Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End
Directing debut of Michael Jonathan (Tainui, Mātaatua, Te Arawa), Ka Whawhai Tonu, is a historical fiction film set in the 1864 New Zealand Wars battle at Ōrākau.
Released in mid-2024, the movie coincided with the 160th anniversary of the battle at Ōrākau in which a large British force slaughtered Tūhoe, Ngāti Raukawa, Waikato and Maniapoto warriors and whānau.
The movie became the highest-grossing Aotearoa film this year, grossing $883,997 at the New Zealand box office
The film’s budget was $7.6 million, roughly half the $15 million recommended by the Film Commission.
Producer Piripi Curtis (Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Pikiao) said his crew were passionate and committed to the kaupapa, many being descendants who wanted to honour their tupuna and portray them as “the amazing people they were”. That meant they made sacrifices, worked extra hard, and wore multiple hats.
Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End is the third film about Ōrākau, but the first to be written, produced, and directed by Māori.
The Convert
The Convert launched onto the big screen in mid-March this year.
Te Kohe Tuhaka is one of the four producers of The Convert as well as one of its stars, he said it was enjoyable to see the fruits of their labour hit the big screen.
Set in 1830s Aotearoa, the film tells the story of Munro, a British preacher who becomes entangled in an inter-hapū conflict during the height of the Musket Wars, a period when the arrival of foreign firearms intensified the devastation of Māori warfare.
It was produced by Tuhaka, Andrew Mason, Troy Lum and Robin Scholes and directed by Lee Tamahori.
The film is bilingual, captivating what it would’ve been like in the early 1800s with te reo Māori being more widely spoken. It also didn’t feature subtitles for some of the kōrero Māori.
The Convert was the third highest-grossing New Zealand film of 2024.
Disney Reo Māori
This year saw not one Disney movie redubbed into reo Māori but two!
Both new releases, Enctanto and Moana 2, were dropped in the second half of the year.
Encanto reo Māori was released in select cinemas across the motu a few days before te wiki o te reo Māori 2024.
The film was a celebration of ahi kā - a pā environment where a village thrives. It is a collaboration of Colombian and Māori culture with similarities that celebrate community, intergenerational knowledge and respect for elders.
Translations for the film were completed by renowned mātanga reo, Pānia Papa and Leon Blake. Encanto is less focused on a particular mita (dialect) but rather seeks to connect as many people to te reo Māori as possible.
Colombian consultant Mauricio Lozano, who hails from the Amazon, and multilinguist Hana Mereraiha have ensured the Spanish language is honoured throughout the film.
What was a real surprise to Disney fans was the reo Māori version of the newly released hit Moana 2 debuting the same day as the reo Pākehā version.
Working in secret the original voice actors from the first redub came back, with additional new faces, and recorded it alongside its original.
Both Rachel House and Temuera Morrison reprised their roles as Gramma Tala and Chief Tui, respectively, in the English and Māori versions.
Also returning was Jaedyn Randell, a finalist for The Voice Australia 2024, who reunited with Piripi Taylor playing Moana and Maui respectively.
The performer who portrayed Elsa from Frozen Reo Māori, Awhimai Fraser, joined the Māori and English cast as the mysterious new character, Matangi.
This was the first time Disney released an indigenous dub alongside its global release.
On its opening day, Moana 2 reo Māori achieved success as the highest-grossing Disney reo Māori film at the box office.is
Coming soon
Although it is not coming this year, there were two projects announced coming soon.
The first is a documentary of the award-winning thrash metal band who sing in te Reo Māori debuting in cinemas across the motu in the new year.
Technically not a reo Māori movie but a te ao Māori, Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara is a personal documentary that will take fans behind the scenes of the band’s first six years on tour across Australasia, Europe, and America, focusing on the two brothers at its core, Henry and Lewis de Jong.
From the release of their debut album, Tū, the feature offers insight into the impact of constant touring, their music, and their whānau, highlighting the challenges of teenage angst along the way.
The film has premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and the New Zealand Film Festival.
During te wiki o te reo Māori 2024, Māoriland Charitable Trust announced a collaboration with DreamWorks Animation to dub the beloved animated film Shrek into te reo Māori.
It will be the first animated film, that wasn’t from Disney, redubbed in the indigenous language of Aotearoa.
It will see a world premiere at the Māoriland Film Festival in March 2025 followed by a series of special screenings across Aotearoa.
The original Shrek has been dubbed into over 40 languages and has been enjoyed by millions of people around the world.
Since Shrek burst onto the screen in 2001, audiences of all ages have been enchanted by the irreverent adventures of a misunderstood ogre and his ragtag group of roguish fairytale folk.
With funding support from Te Māngai Pāho, kaihautū Larry Parr said “The reversioning of Shrek is another opportunity for us to celebrate and promote te reo Māori. This production will allow audiences to engage with te reo Māori in a unique yet familiar and entertaining environment.”
