WARU
New Zealand / 2017 / 86 min / DCP / Māori drama
Directors : Ainsley Gardiner, Casey Kaa, Renae Maihi, Awanui Simich-Pene, Briar Grace Smith, Paula Whetu Jones, Chelsea Winstanley, Katie Wolfe
Cinematography : Drew Sturge
Music : Lauren King
Production : Kerry Warkia, Kiel McNaughton
Cast : Miriama McDowell, Tanea Heke, Kararaina Rangihau, Roimata Fox, Ngapaki Moetara, Acacia Hapi, Maria Walke
Eight female Māori directors have each contributed a ten minute vignette, presented as a continuous shot in real time, that unfolds around the tangi (funeral) of a small boy (Waru) who died at the hands of his caregiver. The vignettes are all subtly interlinked and each follow one of eight female Māori lead characters during the same moment in time as they come to terms with Waru's death and try to find a way forward in their community. In Māori, waru means 8.