POWERFUL NEW ZEALAND DRAMA “WHITE LIES” (TUAKIRI HUNA) TO GET NEW YORK THEATRICAL RELEASE
Antonia Prebble as Rebecca Vickers and Whirimako Black as Paraiti the medicine woman in WHITE LIES, directed by Dana Rotberg
A scene from WHITE LIES, directed by Dana Rotberg.
Rachel House as Maraea in WHITE LIES, directed by Dana Rotberg.
New Zealand’s entry in 2014 Oscar competition for best foreign-language film WHITE LIES, gets Premiere Release in NYC at MIST HARLEM from March 5 to 11, 2016!
[Whirimako] Black is a towering screen presence who honours not only Rotberg’s and Ihimaera’s creation but also the centuries-old dignity and customs of her people.
NEW YORK, NY, USA, March 1, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- While American audiences have been exposed to New Zealand’s beautiful landscape for many years through big productions such as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, just a few films focusing on New Zealand’s indigenous population, the Maoris, have made to it the big screen in America, most notably "Once Were Warriors" (1994) and "Whale Riders" (2002). Things are changing with the new arrival of Maori productions including "The Dead Lands" (2014), "The Dark Horse" (2015) and Sundance 2016 Official Selection: "Hunt for the Wilderpeople". — Simon Foster - Screen-Space
Chief among them is New Zealand’s entry in the 2014 Oscar competition for best foreign-language film "White Lies," distributed in the USA by ArtMattan Films, to receive its US Premiere Theatrical Release in New York City at MIST HARLEM from March 5 to 11, 2016.
"White Lies" will also screen at the Jean Cocteau Cinema (Santa Fe, NM), The Cinema Art Center (Huntington, NY) and Studio C Cinema (Cornelius, NC) starting on March 4, 2016.
Based on a novel by “Whale Rider” writer Witi Ihimaera, "White Lies" is an intense women-centered drama that explores with great humanity and sensitivity such difficult topics as race relations, skin bleaching and abortion.
Paraiti is the healer and midwife of her rural, tribal people – she believes in life. But new laws in force are prohibiting unlicensed healers, making the practice of much Maori medicine illegal. She gets approached by Maraea, the servant of a wealthy woman, Rebecca, who seeks her knowledge and assistance in order to hide a secret which could destroy Rebecca’s position in European settler society.
This compelling story tackles moral dilemmas, exploring the nature of identity, societal attitudes to the roles of women and the tension between Western and traditional Maori medicine.
Directed by Dana Rotberg, 2013, New Zealand, 96mins, Drama, English and Maori with English subt.
Lead actor ANTONIA PREBBLE will be in attendance in NYC!
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, IMAGES AND SCREENERS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Diarah N’Daw-Spech, ArtMattan Productions
Tel (212) 864-1760, e-mail: Info@africanfilm.com
ABOUT ARTMATTAN FILMS
ArtMattan Films celebrates in 2016 twenty three years of exposing US audiences to a large variety of films about the human experience of people of color in many parts of the world. Films released by ArtMattan Films include Kirikou and the Sorceress, The Tracker, Gospel Hill, Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story, The Pirogue and most recently Jews of Egypt and Tango Negro: The African Roots of Tango. More info at www.AfricanFilm.com
Diarah N'Daw-Spech
ArtMattan Films
212-864-1760
email us here
