Whale Rider

On the east coast of New Zealand the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor Paikea who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on Whangara chiefs always the first-born always male have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

2003 | 1 h 41 min