ONCE WERE WARRIORS made international stars out of its lead performers, Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen, Cliff Curtis, and catapulted director Lee Tamahori into Hollywood. Some of the cast and crew have remained working in film and television while others opted out of the business. The documentary's director and original cast member, Julian Arahanga (he plays eldest son Nig Heke in the film), set out to track down his film family for an emotional Heke whanau reunion.
Arahanga, a television producer and director whose company Awa Films produces Māori Television series Songs From the Inside and Behind the Brush, found the experience emotional, but not without its humour as well.
“To meet up with all the cast after 20 years and see where they are at in their lives has been really quite a privilege,” he says.
“After 20 years everyone coming together was always going to be an emotional experience but the thing is it didn’t take long for the jokes to start.
“It reaffirmed for me the belief that everybody felt something special on that film.”
As well as reuniting the Heke family – Temuera Morrison (Jake Heke) , Rena Owen(Beth Heke) Mamaengaroa Pere (Grace Heke) Taungaroa Emile (Boogie Heke) Rachael Morris Tautau (Polly Heke), Joseph Kairau (Huata Heke) - other key players including Cliff Curtis and director Lee Tamahori also make an appearance. #temueramorrison #jakeheke #oncewerewarriors #movie #originalfilm #actionmovies #nz #māori #maori #documentary #history
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