Taua - War Party
Short Film (Full Length) – 2007
A party of returning raiders hauls a massive waka taua (war canoe) through dense Waitakere bush, driven by their brutally insistent chief towards safety. Two water-boys are crouched in the bow. One of them risks a bold act of compassion — towards the trophy prisoner tied to the stern. The impressively-produced portage has echoes of Werner Herzog movie Fitzcarraldo, but the story is palpably Māori. Directed by Tearepa Kahi, Taua won Best Short at National Geographic’s 2007 All Roads festival, and was selected for the Berlin, Rotterdam and Clermont-Ferrand festivals.
Mate atu he tete kura, ara mai ano he tetekura– “The king is dead, long live the king” — the Māori proverb the story was inspired by.
Key Cast & Crew
See all 12 credits
More Information
If you liked this, you might also like...
The Matariki Collection
A selection of iconic Māori TV, film and music video for...
Te Ao Kapurangi (Warrior Woman)
Another Māori short film set in the past
Kairākau - First Episode
A pre-Pākehā Māori fighting show
The Hill
Director Tearepa Kahi acts in this film
The Dead Lands
More Māori warriors
The Speaker
An earlier award-winning short from Tearepa Kahi
Tama Tū
Latter-day Māori soldiers in WWII
The Governor 4 - He Iwi Ko Tahi Tatou / Now We Are One People (Episode Four)
Colonial kingmaking
Utu
More violent revenge in the bush
The Piano
More carrying in the Waitakere mud
Tangaroa
Features a haka to face a modern challenge
Haka - A Musical and a History
More haka in the bush
Ghosts of Gondwana
Māori myths and the nightlife of the forest, with Hirini...
Once Were Warriors
Eroded warrior ethics
The Family
Documentary set in West Auckland
Waka - The Awakening Dream
Doco about waka taua
Mt. Zion
Tearepa Kahi’s feature film debut
Kupe - Voyaging by the Stars
A documentary on a double-hulled waka
Tāhere Tikitiki - The Making of a Māori Canoe
A landmark 1974 waka building film
Rere Ki Uta, Rere Ki Tai (The Journey)
Documentary about a waka journey
Kōrero Mai - Series Five, Episode One
Also features Antonio Te Maioha