Eight Māori female directors have each contributed a sequence to this powerful and challenging feature which unfolds around the tangi of a small boy who died at the hands of his caregiver.
Direction
Eight distinct voices, one seamless tragedy.
Acting
Tanea Heke's restrained devastation will wreck you.
Writing
Each 10-minute segment reveals new layers of complicity.
Director
Briar Grace Smith
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Waru was the first feature film with eight Māori women directors, created after industry frustration with tokenism.
Each segment was shot simultaneously in one location with shared cast, yet maintains completely distinct visual languages—Katie Wolfe's handheld chaos versus Briar Grace-Smith's static dread.
US
NZ
