Movies by George Henare
The Dead Lands
Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones after his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains led by Wirepa, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden “Dead Lands” and forge an uneasy alliance with a mysterious warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.
The Silent One
A baby is washed up on a Pacific Island and is adopted by a childless woman. The tribal priest takes an instant dislike to the child, proclaiming him a demon. The child is deaf and mute and therefore excluded from hunting with the other young men. Out of loneliness, he befriends a white turtle. When a drought befalls the island, the priest blames the silent one. When the chief protects the boy, the priest plots the chiefs' downfall.
Waitangi Day: What Really Happened
This docudrama follows an imaginary news reporter who travels back in time to cover the days leading up to the Treaty of Waitangi's signing on 6 February 1840. Dropping the usual solemnity surrounding Aotearoa's founding document, it uses humour and asides to camera to evoke the chaos and motives behind the treaty. This clip features a confrontation between Hone Heke and representatives of the Crown.
Kawa
A psychological drama of a family in crisis. Kawa, a successful Māori businessman in Auckland, New Zealand, is forced to reveal his lifelong secret - that he is gay.
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Judge Stefan Mortensen suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. There, Mortensen clashes with a seemingly gentle resident named Dave Crealy, who is actually secretly terrorizing the home with a sadistic game called "The Rule of Jenny Pen" while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy's reign of terror.