Movies: Tainui Stephens

An intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand....

A boy witnesses the seemingly magic powers of his Aunties and the continuation of tradition....

The story of Dame Whina Cooper, the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. Flawed yet resilient, Whina tells the story of a woman formed by tradition, compelled by innovation, and guided b...

Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones after his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains led by Wire...

Three quirky older nuns hit the road looking for miracles but end up learning to drive like demons instead. When the last of the sisters of St. Suzanne’s face forced retirement, they take matters into their own hands. A last-minute dash to New Zealan...

In Rain of the Children, Ward further explores the subject of his earlier film, In Spring One Plants Alone when, as a young film student he travelled to the Ureweras and documented the lives of an elderly Māori woman (Puhi) and her schizophrenic son ...

Barry Barclay was a New Zealand/Aotearoa director of documentaries and feature films. He is regarded as one of the world's first, and very influential, Indigenous film makers. The film The Camera on The Shore is a feature length introduction to Barry...

Hone is the last of the old time gravediggers. He links the living with the dead. He is the keeper of their secrets. Tana is Hone’s apprentice who respects his uncle and doesn’t mind the physical work. However he finds the spiritual side of the job u...

Documentary Hautoa Mā! The Rise of Māori Cinema reveals the remarkable impact Māori have made on New Zealand cinema....

Upcoming Māori monster thriller....

Set in 1870's Taranaki, Aotearoa. The Land Wars in Aotearoa are over. A Taranaki hapū is planning a feast with Pākehā former soldiers to mark the start of more peaceful times. Not all is what it seems....