Hinekura

Films by Genre

17MIN

Availability ended 1/11/2020 GMT
(29 Oct-1 Nov worldwide) Aotearoa: 1600’s. While playing games with her friend Tama (13), Hine (also 13) gets her first bleed. Protective and gentle, Tama escorts her to her mother. The whanau joyously send her to a distant site set aside for sacred female rituals. She is accompanied by other women from the tribe, including her mother Marama, her sister Rona and a guard, Te Haeata. When they arrive, Hinekura experiences her first ritual into womanhood. However Hine isn’t ready to let her childhood go, so after setting up camp that night Hine sneaks back to the river to find Tama. She just wants to continue playing their games. But Tama aware of the importance of this time, tells her to to go back. She returns to find Te Haeata waiting for her near the campsite. Te Haeata begins to induct Hine into the school of weaponry. As they walk back to the camp, Te Haeata speaks to Hine about her role, but is cut short when she sees a stranger peering at them from in the bush. Hine and Te Haeata swiftly return to the camp where the women are waiting anxiously for her. Hine begins for the first time, to reflect on her role within the tribe as she watches Te Haeata guard them. The next day, Hine, feeling sorry for herself, retreats from everyone seeking solace at the lake. Her sister joins her. As they talk, the stranger from the other night arrives and tries to drag Rona away. Hine picks up her stick and fights the stranger knocking him down just as Te Haeata arrives. The event changes her as she finally understands her place as a protector of her people. Available Worldwide

Included with

  • INDIGENOUS WOMEN REMATRIATE
    INDIGENOUS WOMEN REMATRIATE

Director Bio

Becs Arahanga: Movies, TV, and Bio









Becs has been working in the film industry, on and off for 16 years. Initially she did wardrobe and other roles on short films, before going off and spending five years getting her Bachelor of Health Science in Acupuncture degree where she graduated at the top of her class. Becs is relatively new to writing and directing. To date she has written and directed three short films since Aug 2016. Laundry, which she wrote and directed at the end of 2016 was her first go at film making. Laundry made it into NZIFF Best Shorts and Show Me Shorts, where it was nominated for four awards. Best Edit, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Film. It is still currently in it’s Festival life, having played at ImagineNative in Toronto, San Diego, FIFO in Tahiti, Tampere Film Festival in Finland, Seattle International Film Fest and Milwaukee.

Since then Becs has written and directed her second short film, Hinekura, which is a pre- colonial coming of age story around NZ Maori’s ancient practices and ceremony during the first time of menses. Hinekura is just started it’s festival life and has recently been selected for NZIFF Best Shorts 2019, Sydney International Film fest, and Oaxaca Film Festival.

Becs was also chosen to be the Aotearoa director for Vai, a portmanteau film. As was written in the NZFC release ‘Similar in style to Waru, Vai connects eight stories about the journey of empowerment through culture, over the lifetime of one woman, Vai.

Becs is incredibly passionate about telling heartfelt and real NZ stories and is of Ngai Tahu and Ngati Raukawa descent.

Credits

Directed by Becs Arahanga

Produced by Sharlene George
Kath Akuhata Brown

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