Father Geek here with our wonderful reporter in the Pacific islands, Moon Yun Choi, and her second report from the MAUI FILM FESTIVAL for 2003. This time she got up close to a couple of the stars of New Zealand great new film, THE WHALE RIDER. So without any more from me, here's Moon Yun...
Moon Yun here corresponding from the 2003 Maui Film Festival where the movie that won the audience’s heart and admiration was the New Zealand film “Whale Rider.” So far it was the best movie I’ve seen at the June 11 – 15 festival. Like many other people who saw it, I felt it should at least receive an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign film. It’s going to be released in the USA nationwide this week so if this film hits theaters in your town, definitely see it. The story is amazing and Keisha Castle-Hughes, as Pai (or Paika), just breaks your heart. I cried at the end and I know a lot of other people were sobbing. There was no manipulation with the emotions. You were just touched by the character’s heroism and unconditional love for her grandfather who couldn’t love her back. Rawiri Paratene, who played Pai’s grandfather, was still able to portray him with sympathy and dignity.
Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rawiri Paratene came to represent the film for the director Niki Caro, who, Castle-Hughes said during her opening speech “wasn’t able to make it to the festival because she’s in the middle of her most important production – her first baby.”
There was a full moon on the night of the showing of “Whale Rider” at the outdoor Tommy Bahama Celestial Cinema at Wailea, Maui. Castle-Hughes and Paratene gave a rousing traditional Maori chant that wowed the audience.
Before I saw the movie, I had a one-on-one interview with both actors. I met Castle-Hughes at the fancy condo-villa the festival provided for her and her mother. She looked like a beautiful half-Maori Natalie Portman. She wore a pretty strapless floral dress. For only being a 13-year-old, she was articulate, animated, held a good conversation, and was obviously very intelligent.
Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rawiri Paratene came to represent the film for the director Niki Caro, who, Castle-Hughes said during her opening speech “wasn’t able to make it to the festival because she’s in the middle of her most important production – her first baby.”
There was a full moon on the night of the showing of “Whale Rider” at the outdoor Tommy Bahama Celestial Cinema at Wailea, Maui. Castle-Hughes and Paratene gave a rousing traditional Maori chant that wowed the audience.
Before I saw the movie, I had a one-on-one interview with both actors. I met Castle-Hughes at the fancy condo-villa the festival provided for her and her mother. She looked like a beautiful half-Maori Natalie Portman. She wore a pretty strapless floral dress. For only being a 13-year-old, she was articulate, animated, held a good conversation, and was obviously very intelligent.
Before I saw the movie, I had a one-on-one interview with both actors. I met Castle-Hughes at the fancy condo-villa the festival provided for her and her mother. She looked like a beautiful half-Maori Natalie Portman. She wore a pretty strapless floral dress. For only being a 13-year-old, she was articulate, animated, held a good conversation, and was obviously very intelligent.
AICN: There’s been a lot of buzz about this movie at the Maui Film Festival. When I asked Rob Reiner which movie he was looking forward to seeing he said he heard incredible things about this one. Geena Davis also said this is the film she wants to see. How does that make you feel?
Keisha: (in her sweet, adorable New Zealand accent) I feel a little funny about that. They’re big famous people and they want to see our little film. That’s pretty good.
AICN: This is your first film ever. I heard that you got discovered by the same casting agent as Anna Paquin – a New Zealander like yourself who went on to win an Oscar at a very young age for “The Piano.”
Keisha: The casting agent came up to me at my class [at school]. I didn’t know who she was or why she was there. She just came up to me and asked me if I was Maori, if I could swim and if I could ride a bike. I can’t swim but I said ‘yes’ because I was quite intimidated by her. She told me that “Whale Rider” was going to be made into a film and she’d like me to audition. So I went through a series of eight or nine auditions over a period of two months and there were 10,000 girls in New Zealand who auditioned for the part.
AICN: Are your part Maori?
Keisha: I’m half Maori, half New Zealander.
AICN: Do you have any ties to Hawaii?
Keisha: Not that I know of but our ancestors came from Hawaii’ki which some people believe was Hawaii.
AICN: Tell me about your role.
Keisha: I play a little a girl named Pai. She’s born into a male dominated line in a tribe and it’s a male dominated line of chiefs. She’s born and she has a twin brother but he dies. She breaks the line because of the fact that she’s a girl. It’s all about her trying to find her place in that line and trying to find her place in society. She feels that even though she’s a girl it doesn’t mean that she’s not able to succeed in something that a man supposedly only can.
AICN: That’s a very mature role. You were only 11 at the time of the filming. How were you able to carry the film and bring the emotions to it?
Keisha: We did a four-week rehearsal period beforehand. I did it with the other cast and with Niki Caro. It was really good that time. We bonded and helped each other.
AICN: Rawiri Paratene plays your grandfather. He said that his character required him to be hard on the granddaughter. He liked acting with you because you were able to handle it. Was that difficult for you?
Keisha: It was a bit difficult. He had to be mean to me. Because of the rehearsal I knew that I could trust him to be that hard on me and I wouldn’t end up in therapy or anything.
AICN: What are your hobbies?
Keisha: I like hanging out with my friends, shopping and going on the computer.
AICN: How has life been since the success of the “Whale Rider?” You’ve had to go on press tours to promote the film and I’m sure it’s been a whirlwind ride. How does it feel to have so much press attention?
Keisha: It’s kind of strange. It was first released in New Zealand in January and then in Australia in April. America is the third release. It’s going to be released over Europe. When I did the New Zealand press, it was a little bit strange … that was probably the strangest because all my friends were seeing me on T.V. I’d go to school and they say, ‘You were on the news last night. You were in the newspaper this morning.’ That was strange but I got use to it.
AICN: Rawiri was telling me that in Chicago there was a standing ovation for the film.
Keisha: Yeah, there’s been standing ovations everywhere we’ve been. It’s great. It makes you feel pretty happy. That makes me realize the film’s a really good film and people like it. That’s what we want to hear.
AICN: What have been the fans’ reactions?
Keisha: A lot of time they say, ‘thank you.’ They are touched by the film. They enjoy it and go to see the film again.
AICN: How do the Maori people feel about it since it’s a representation of their culture?
Keisha: They’re really proud of it. At first our biggest audience was in Fangara, where the movie was shot. Even if we succeeded all over the world and they weren’t happy with it we wouldn’t be happy with it. They were. They saw it before everyone else. They really loved it. It was a big relief. They’ve accepted and they’re proud of it, not just the Maori people but I think every New Zealander as well.
AICN: Is that a true story about the “Whale Rider?”
Keisha: Yes, it’s a true story about a man named Paikia. He came from Hawaii’ki. He came on a canoe with a whole tribe. The canoe overturned. He called to his ancestors and they sent a whale. He was the only survivor and he landed in Fangara, where the movie was filmed. That’s a legend. The movie was adapted from the book [of the same title written by Witi Ihimaera.] He wrote a story of the girl, Pai, who was born into the same line.
AICN: Do you want to continue to be an actress?
Keisha: I still haven’t decided. I’m not sure if I want to continue it. At the moment, I just want to go back to school and be with my friends.
AICN: Do you have an actor who’s a role model?
Keisha: I really like Julia Roberts. She’s my favorite actress. If I was going to be an actress I’d hope I’d be like her.
AICN: Rawiri was telling me that the director, Niki Caro, was named in “Variety” as one of the top ten new directors to watch. What was it like to be under her direction?
Keisha: It was great. She was more of a big sister to me. She didn’t direct me. She gave me options of what I should do and it was totally up to me how the character would react. Yeah, I like Niki. She was heaps of fun and it was great working with her.
AICN: What was it like to work with Rawiri?
Keisha: It was weird because he’s very famous in New Zealand. At first I was a bit nervous because he was like a big star to me now that I got know him he’s really fun.
AICN: Are there any other movies that you’ll be working on in the future?
Keisha: Not at the moment. My number one priority is school. I like to keep my options open.
AICN: Is there any particular director you wanted to work with?
Keisha: I’ve been thinking if I was ever offered a Rob Reiner part, I’d definitely consider it.
AICN: Did you get to talk to him?
Keisha: No, I didn’t. I went last night (to his award ceremony on June 12), I saw him and Geena Davis but I didn’t get to talk to him.
AICN: What did you think of him during the Q & A part of the ceremony? He was pretty funny, huh?
Keisha: He was funny. He’s very much down to earth. He was great. That would be really fun if I get to meet him.
I ran into Paratene just as he arrived to check in at the press office at the Fairmont Kea Lani with Castle-Hughes and her mother. I snagged him for an interview before the hordes of other press got to him. There was major media from the mainland as well as Canada. They included CNN, Entertainment Tonight, Fox, Variety, People Magazine, Variety, E! Entertainment, USA Today, and even a T.V. station from Canada, just to name a few.
AICN: You play Pai’s grandfather named Koro. Why do you think it’s getting such tremendous reaction?
Rawiri: For lots of reasons I think. I think one of the main reasons is its cultural specificity. It tells the story that is set in a small ocean village in New Zealand. It doesn’t try to dumb it down in order to reach a wider audience. It remains honest to the story that’s told in the novel and it’s just a very honest film. It’s one of keys to the reaction that it’s getting, I believe. It’s not a film that sets out to teach about a culture. It just tells a very cultural story. For “Monsoon Wedding” I didn’t learn anything about the Indian culture but they didn’t dumb it down so I could follow a story. It’s got a compelling performance by Keisha. She wins people’s hearts. The story wins people’s heart. She has work throughout the film in order to win the heart of my character. I’m quite cruel to her in the film. I’m hard on her. People get upset about me. They can see that I love her but because she has to work hard to win my heart she wins the hearts of a! ll the audience so that’s another part of the success.
We’ve shown this film now in a lot of different places to extraordinarily differing audiences. They all cry. The film leaves the audience with a sense of hope. It’s a little film. It’s refreshing in the wider frame of cinema. We’ve had reactions from old women, from big, beefy men who you wouldn’t expect this sort of reaction to a film. They’ve cried. They’ve come up to us and said, ‘oh man, this film got to me.’
Newmarket Films is distributing this movie. They distributed “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” They’ve got high expectations of it. The signs are really good. It’s exciting. It’s the second most successful New Zealand movie ever and it’s about to become the most successful New Zealand movie ever in New Zealand. It’s number two in Australia. Then the next week, “The Matrix: Reloaded” got released. It held number two. It’s done more business in Australia than “X-Men 2.” It’s taking on all the big guns in places and it’s got something that keeps people.
AICN: Can you tell me a little about yourself and your acting background?
Rawiri: I’m 49. I was 47 when we shot the film. I play Koro who’s in his mid 60’s. So there was a little bit of aging up.
AICN: Did they put make-up on you?
Rawiri: Just a little. They did my hair …turned it gray. I did the aging from in here. (He points to his gut and heart). I graduated from the New Zealand Drama School as the first Maori graduate in 1972. I’ve been working as an actor, writer and director and producer, tutor and administrator in theatre, radio, television and film solely from New Zealand. I’m part of an amazing growth period of the entertainment industry in New Zealand. I’ve done lots of television and theatre. I’ve done eight movies. You probably haven’t seen any of them. I did the sequel to “Once Were Warriors.” This is my biggest movie to date. I’ve done Shakespeare and comedy. I’ve won awards for my writing in New Zealand.
AICN: What’s your ethnicity?
Rawiri: I’m Maori, more than 90%. I’ve got some Irish blood on my mother’s side and some English blood from my grandfather’s side but that’s quite a long ways back. But I identify myself as Maori.
AICN: What was it like working with Keisha?
Rawiri: Amazing. I’ve worked with lots of fantastic actors and she’s one of them. All of the credit for the movie goes to Caro who can’t be here because she’s having her first baby in the next couple of weeks. We developed a trust during the rehearsal process. My character is very hard on her. I had to trust that she was going to be able to take it and she had to trust that I wasn’t going to hurt her. I saw her take on improvisation processes as if she’s been doing it her entire life. It was a remarkable experience for me. She’s much grounded and she’s got a fantastic mother who keeps an eye on her and looks out after her. Niki Caro looks after her. She’s not a director that gets a performance out of someone and drops them particularly with children. Niki understood that without someone to play the role of Paika (sometimes called Pai) we didn’t have a film. She invested a lot of time and effort in finding Keisha, preparing her and since the film’s been mad! e looking after her because she’s special. She’s a young soul. The camera loves her. I’m the grumpy old grandfather. [Laughs] My role is a gift role too.
“Whale Rider” has won Audience Awards at Sundance, Rotterdam, and Toronto Film Festival.
A special award to Anthony Hopkins was suppose to be given on the same night that the “Whale Rider” screened but Hopkins bowed out at the last minute due to personal reasons.
Adrien Brody graciously stepped in to fill in for the Q & A session. The film festival scrambled at the last minute to put together video clips of his work. They still showed the clips of Hopkins work and Barry Rivers apologized to the audience that Hopkins couldn’t be there. He held up his Silversword Award and said hopefully Hopkins will be able to make it next year. Brody did an amazing job filling in for Hopkins. I’ll have his Q & A in my next report.
Aloha... and signing out …
Moon Yun
