Mahana (film)
| Mahana | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lee Tamahori |
| Written by | John Collee |
| Based on | Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies by Witi Ihimaera |
| Produced by | Janine Dickins Robin Scholes Timothy White |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Ginny Loane |
| Edited by | Michael Horton Jonathan Woodford-Robinson |
| Music by | Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper Tama Waipara |
Production companies | Jump Film and Television |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Languages | English Te Reo Māori |
Mahana is a 2016 New Zealand drama film directed by Lee Tamahori, and written by John Collee, based on the novel Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies by Witi Ihimaera. It was released as The Patriarch outside New Zealand.
The film tells the story of two rival Māori families, the Mahanas and the Poatas, whose enmity purportedly dates back to Tamihana Mahana falling in love with Ramona and rescuing her from her betrothed, Rupeni Poata, who she does not marry. By the late 1950s, Tamihana is the patriarch of the Mahana clan, running a successful sheep shearing family business, while his grandson Simeon chafes under his authoritarian rule.