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New Zealand Tag

Character 187 – Paikea revisited again!

I drew Paikea in 2012 and then painted her in 2014. Here’s my most recent version of her. I love love love this film. Whale Rider came out in 2002 and is based on a historic figure in Maori history. It was written and directed by Niki Caro and starred a new comer named Keisha Castle-Hughes. This time I leaned into the emotion more as this scene from the film was VERY emotional. IYKYK.

What other Maori, Polynesian, or Pacifika films have you seen that you enjoyed? One of my other favs is “Merata” about the pioneering director Merata Mita who was the first Maori woman to write and direct a feature film in New Zealand.

I even once did a film study of whale rider which you can check out here.

Dig this? If you like my characters check out my last character collage of figures from 2020-2024

June 27, 2026
in Character Design
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MERATA- Array Film Release

Hey, this month you’ll be able to watch a great documentary about pioneering filmmaker Merata Mita  (New Zealand) distributed by Array films and available on Netflix this month.

Watch the trailer. Check out this drawing I did her awhile ago.
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May 8, 2019
in General
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Who is She? 2- Merata Mita

Merata Mita was an indigenous Maori filmmaker from new Zealand. Born in 1942, she was thr first woman in NZ to direct a documentary film. Patu! , her first film was about the protests and acts of civil disobedience that many New Zealanders exhibited when a rugby team from the then apartheid state of South Africa came to play matches in NZ. She went on to direct and act in several films, saying that she wanted to tell stories instead of give foreign filmmakers the key to Maori lives. She was a pioneer in NZ pushing the filmmaking forward in the country. A documentary by her son about her life is in the works and Sundance has named an award for film after her. 
Sources: The Independent UK (blog), Interview by Karin Williams (youtube)

March 4, 2016
in General, Who is She?
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