September 22, 2022
Muru put up for Oscar
Muru director Tearepa Kahi says getting the film on the Oscars long list should help it find an international audience.
The cop versus cop action movie loosely based on the 2007 Tuhoe Raids is New Zealand’s official entry in the 2023 Academy Awards Best International Feature Film category.
Kahi says he was encouraged at the response it got at this month’s Toronto International Film Festival, and next month it’s in competition at the Busan festival in South Korea.
The fact most of the film is in te reo o Tuhoe doesn’t seem to put audiences off.
“Somehow it brought the audience in even closer into the valley and you realise that for a long time we’ve been taught to be self-conscious about our language on the international stage but it’s the opposite now and the themes that are inherent in the film are themes that are connecting with international audiences. There’s a lot happening with the police force and indigenous cultures,” Kahi says.
Muru will be released in Australia on the October 13, to coincide with the anniversary of the raids which inspired the film.