News

"Go and rouse your people... raise your weapons!" Transmission Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie film from New Zealand titled Ka Whawhai Tonu, directed by Kiwi filmmaker Mike Jonathan. Set in New Zealand in 1864, the film follows the story of a crucial conflict of the nation's first land warfare, fought between Maori and colonial soldiers. The film's full title is Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End: the historical story of the battle of O-Rākau as told for the first time from the point of view of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, in their own language Te Reo Māori. Set in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1864, it's the story of a pivotal battle in the first New Zealand land wars in the Waikato region. A battle fought with impossible odds between Māori and the Colonial forces. This heroic conflict is told through the eyes of two...

Stars: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Xavier Horan, Raukura Turei, George Henare, Rena Owen, Pana Hema Taylor, Calvin Tuteao, Jamus Webster, Bianca Hyslop, Isabella Rakete, Matariki Whatarau, Wairangi Koopu, Jeff Ruha | Written by Glenn Standring | Directed by Toa Fraser

Hongi (James Rolleston) – a Māori 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 Wirepa (Te Kohe Tuhaka), Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden Dead Lands and forge an uneasy alliance with the mysterious “Warrior” (Lawrence Makoare), a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.

I actually found The Dead Lands really entertaining. Not only is the film filled to the brim with crazy Māori fight sequences which look brutal and realistic,...