HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
New Zealand / 2016 / 101 min / DCP / Comedy
Director : Taika Waititi
Script : Taika Waititi
Cinematography : Lachlan Milne
Editing : Tom Eagles, Yana Gorskaya, Luke Haigh
Music : Lukasz Buda, Samuel Scott, Conrad Wedde
Production : Carthew Neal, Matt Noonan, Leanne Saunders, Taika Waititi
Distribution: Synergy Cinéma
Cast : Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rachel House, Rima Te Wiata
Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family. A hilarious, touching crowd-pleaser, that reminds us about the journey that growing up is (at any age) and those who help us along the way.
Taika Waititi
Born in 1975, Taika Waititi also goes under the surname Cohen. He comes from the Raukokore region of the East Coast and has been involved in the arts for several years, as a visual artist, actor, writer and director. Taika's short film, Two Cars, One Night, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005. His next short, Tama Tu, about a group of Māori soldiers in Italy during World War II, won a string of international awards, and became eligible for Oscar nomination. He spent two years in Berlin working and exhibiting in the Schliemann 40 House and spent several years experimenting with photography and painting. Taika's first feature, Eagle vs. Shark, was released in 2007. He directed two episodes of Flight of the Conchords a twelve-part comedy series, created by and starring his friends Jermaine Clement and Brett McKenzie, for the American cable channel HBO. Taika's 2010 feature length film, Boy, is an exploration of some of the characters and ideas introduced in his Oscar-nominated debut short Two Cars, One Night. Following its release, Boy became the highest grossing local film in New Zealand history. In 2013, he co-directed the New Zealand-based vampire comedy mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows with Jemaine Clement. His fourth feature, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival to great reception, leading him to be chosen to direct the Marvel Studios film Thor: Ragnaroki (2017).