White Lies
2013 • 99 minutes
PG
Rating
infoThis item is not available
About this movie
White Lies - Tuakiri Huna is a 2013 New Zealand film directed by Dana Rotberg and stars Whirimako Black, Antonia Prebble, and Rachel House. It is based on the novella Medicine Woman by Witi Ihimaera. Regarded as an excellent portrayal of colonial oppression in New Zealand, the film deals with the impacts of the Tohunga Suppression Act upon Māori traditions surrounding childbirth.
The story is about a medicine woman Paraiti, who is approached by Maraea, the servant of wealthy woman, Rebecca Vickers, to perform an abortion. Unbeknownst to Paraiti, Maraea has hidden plans. The unborn baby becomes the central figure in the story, as the women are forced to reconcile their differing perspectives and confront their own expectations of motherhood, life and death.
The film premiered in New Zealand cinemas on 27 June 2013. It screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was selected as the New Zealand entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.
The story is about a medicine woman Paraiti, who is approached by Maraea, the servant of wealthy woman, Rebecca Vickers, to perform an abortion. Unbeknownst to Paraiti, Maraea has hidden plans. The unborn baby becomes the central figure in the story, as the women are forced to reconcile their differing perspectives and confront their own expectations of motherhood, life and death.
The film premiered in New Zealand cinemas on 27 June 2013. It screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was selected as the New Zealand entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards.
Rating