D. James Napier Robertson, Paula Whetu Jones | PG | NZ

From New Zealand filmmakers James Napier Robertson (Dark Horse) and Paula Whetu Jones (Waru, SWIFF’18) comes WHINA – a timely biopic of Dame Whina Cooper, the trailblazing female Māori leader, who broke gender boundaries, championed Māori rights, fought for the land and stayed true to her heart.

The daughter of a Māori chief, Josephine (‘Whina’ for short), was born in Hokianga in 1895. For nearly a century, Whina (Miriama McDowell and Rena Owen, Once Were Warriors) never stopped asserting the rights of her people and striving for unity between Māori and Pākehā. In 1975, Whina, frail but still determined, led a sacred hīkoi over 600kms, from the top of New Zealand to Parliament House in Wellington.

WHINA tells the story of a beloved matriarch formed by tradition, compelled by innovation, and guided by an instinct for equality and justice whose legacy as the Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation) was an inspiration to an entire country.