Waru is a 2017 New Zealand semi-anthology drama film about the tangi (funeral) of a small boy named Waru who dies at the hands of his caregiver, and how the boy's death impacts the community.
Contents
Plot
The underlying story is the tangi (funeral) of a small boy named Waru who has died at the hands of his caregiver, and how the boy's death impacts the community.
The film spans eight stories, each starting at 9:59 the morning of the tangi.
Charm
Aunty Charm directs the food preparation for the funeral at the kāuta (kitchen) in the local marae.
Anahera
Waru's kindergarten teacher, Anahera, processes the loss with her class and colleagues.
Mihi
Single mother Mihi struggles to care for her kids with no money for gas or food.
Em
Young singer Em comes home from a raucous night out to find she is locked out of her house, and her baby is inside.
Ranui
Two great-grandmothers of Waru, Ranui and Hinga, argue over where his body should rest so that his wairua (spirit) is at peace.
Kiritapu
Anchorwoman Kiritapu endures microaggressions and overt racism alike while her colleagues discuss the murder of Waru.
Mere
Young teen Mere, armed with a tokotoko, plucks up the courage to talk back to her abuser.
Titty & Bash
Two sisters, Titty and Bash, drive to reclaim Bash's children from an abusive household.
Cast
Tanea Heke as Aunty Charm
Roimata Fox as Anahera
Ngapaki Moetara as Mihi
Awhina-Rose Ashby as Em
Kararaina Rangihau as Ranui
Merehaka Maaka as Hinga
Maria Walker as Kiritapu
Acacia Hapi as Mere
Amber Curreen as "Titty" (short for Whatitiri or "thunder" in Māori)
Miriama McDowell as "Bash" (a nickname derived from Uira or "lightning" in Māori)
Production
NZ On Air and New Zealand Film Commission funding was obtained in 2015.
The film consists of eight 10-minute long takes, written and directed by nine Māori women (one on each of the first seven stories, with two on the last one, "Titty & Bash"). The producers issued a challenge to the film-makers: Each story had to have a female lead, begin at 9:59am, and be shot in one day, using one continuous take.
The writer-directors for each film were:
Charm – Briar Grace-Smith
Anahera – Casey Kaa
Mihi – Ainsley Gardiner
Em – Katie Wolfe
Ranui – Renae Maihi
Kiritapu – Chelsea Winstanley
Mere – Paula Jones
Titty & Bash – Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu & Awanui Simich-Pene
Release
After featuring at the New Zealand International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, it received a general release in New Zealand in October 2017. It then featured in a number of other film festivals.
It subsequently became available on the free subscription services SBS On Demand and Beamafilm in Australia.
Accolades
Waru won the Jury Grand Prix, Best feature film, at the 2019 Rencontres internationales du cinéma des Antipodes (Antipodean Film Festival) in Saint-Tropez, France.
The film won the audience award at Seattle International Film Festival and the grand jury award for an outstanding international narrative feature at the 34th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Los Angeles.
It also won the Indigenous Rights award at the Wairoa Māori Film Festival.