Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Is this what you truly want? Happy families as long as no one knows your dirty little secret. Is that how you want to live

– Chris (Dean O’Gorman) to Kawa (Calvin Tuteao)

Helmer Katie Wolfe and scribe Kate McDermott’s thoughtful work is well supported by cast, and packaging is attractive, from locations to soundtrack choices.

– Dennis Harvey, in a 21 June 2011 Variety review

The most exciting thing for me was that in the book the main character is European and he is supposed to be an 'everyman' character, but with this particular treatment, because it was to be made by Māori creatives, I had to completely turn my head around and to actually recognise for myself that unfortunately I was going to have to come out twice. Once in the guise of a Pākehā character and then turn that character around and make him into the Māori character that he was supposed to be in the very beginning.

– Author Witi Ihimaera, on the differences between page and screen