The story of Dame Whina Cooper, the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. Flawed yet resilient, Whina tells the story of a woman formed by tradition, compelled by innovation, and guided by an instinct for equality and justice whose legacy as the Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation) was an inspiration to an entire country.
This short film takes place one frantic night as a beautiful young sex worker waits for her salesman lover to whisk her away from her last night on the strip to live happily ever after. But it’s 1975 and she’s a Māori drag queen. And he’s not the ‘white knight’ he said he was.
A young Māori boy joins his rugged dad on his night shift recycling truck job, his dad spends the journey trying to impress upon him the importance of not losing his reo.
