Maori Boy Genius

Maori Boy Genius

Produced by Pietra Brettkelly
"He's precious, and gifted, a wiseman... but really he's just a child. Hee, hee." Grandma, 75

Overview

Genre
Personal Doc, Contemporary Issues, Minorities, Social Issues, and Human Interest
Synopsis

What if you could turn back the clock and watch the minds forming of those who would create political zeitgeist shifts in the future – the US’s first black President Barack Obama, South America’s first indigenous President Evo Morales, or Denmark’s first female Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt.

MAORI BOY GENIUS does just that.

Ngaa Rauuira is railing against his people’s statistics of uneducated youth, 40% of prisoners, alarming suicide rates and a dying language. His tribe believes he will save them.

At 16 he studies politics at Yale, his family of 8 facing his US$35,000 education bill. Within a year he is leading major protests and being asked to stand for Parliament.

ONCE WERE WARRIORS depicted urban Maori 16 years ago.

This is the surprising update.

Stage
finished
Running time
84 and 58 minutes

Credits

Production Details

Prod. Co.
PBK Limited
Country
New Zealand
Years of Production
2010-2012
Locations
New Zealand, Yale University, USA
Prod. Partners
Haslund Film, Denmark

Distribution Details

Release year
2012
Festivals
Berlin Film Festival, Sheffield Docfest, Bergen International Film Festival, Margaret Mead Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival, One World International Human Rights, Prague, Indigenous World Film Festival, Alaska
Awards
Best Documentary, The Moas, NZ Film Awards
Distribution
Cinephil Sales, 18 Levontin Street, Tel Aviv 65112, Israel Tel: +972 3 566 4129 Fax: +972 3 560 1436 email: ori@cinephil.co.il
Broadcast (Prod.)
VPRO Netherlands, Maori TV New Zealand
Language
English, Maori
Subtitles
English

Photos

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