Māori cinema dominates in 2024

Written by Taylor Tutawa Mclaren

2024 has seen several successful Māori films released locally and abroad.

Building on the legacy of great films of the past like Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider and The Dead Lands, these new films explore familiar themes while placing new spins on old stories.

Let’s take a deep dive into Māori cinema in 2024 and why its better then ever before.

The Convert by Lee Tamahori is a period piece film set in colonial Aotearoa.

Image credit: New Zealand Film Commission 

The first Māori film I watched this year was The Convert at St Lukes Cinema. Directed by Lee Tamahori of Once Were Warriors fame, this film had a stacked cast included Guy Pierce, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne and Lawrence Makoare.

Both these elements together made this film feel like a big blockbuster hit, which helped to launch this film and consequently Te Aō Maōri into the public consciousness.

The subverted expectations of a Pakeha lay minister (the main character played by Guy Pierce) eventually being converted into the life of Māori was one that while obvious in hindsight, is unexpected when watching the film.

Tioreore’s character is of a mournful widow and she gives a hauntingly beautiful performance which is amplified in the face of a war between the two iwi in the film.

I walked out of the cinema with a renewed interest in Māori films and have gone on to watch several older Māori films for the first time because of how good The Convert was.

And then to top it off was the Ka Whawhai Tonu film that came out later in the year.

Image credit: Event Finda

This film doesn’t shy away from the very real atrocities committed in this battle.

My emotions were mixed between sorrowful grief to Māori who were killed on screen by the dozen, and burning rage to in-movie Pākehā who’s actions in the film were almost cliche in their hatred of the Māori resistance towards the British.

The director Mike Jonathan balances historical accuracy with a fictional story of a young boy of Maōri and Pakeha heritage trying to find meaning in his cultural differences during the NZ Land Wars.

I left the cinema with a greater appreciation for the resilience of my people and appreciated the opportunity to learn about an aspect of New Zealand’s history that is shamefully neglected too often.

When analysing both these films, it becomes clear how they exhibit different aspects of colonial Aotearoa and how this is done in its genre niches.

Whether you prefer a action drama film like The Convert, or a historical drama like Ka Whawhai Tonu, the diversity of Māori cinema in 2024 is excellent to see.