top of page
WARU
January 8, 2023
Moderator: Spencer Everhart
Panelists: Kerri VanderHoff (Film) and Lance Hohaia (Culture)

Director: Various
Year: 2017
Country: New Zealand
From eight female Maori directors come eight connected stories, each taking place at the same moment in time during the tangi (funeral) of a small boy, Waru, who has died at the hands of a caregiver.
Festival Premiere
2017 Toronto International Film Festival
Discovery
Awards
Grand Jury Prize, Winner
2018 Asia-Pacific Film Festival
Audience Award, Winner
2018 Seattle International Film Festival

"A fascinating glimpse into New Zealand's contemporary Maori community, Waru brings a sense of dramatic, urgent realism to a story that plays out like a suspenseful mystery."
-- Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter
"It's a remarkable achievement - authentic, impassioned, unexpected - that stands as a testament to the radical power of cooperative film-making."
-- Mark Kermode, Observer
bottom of page