Whale Rider

(2002) dir Niki Caro w/Keisha Castle-Hughes [101 min; Digital]
One of the most sensational film breakouts of the early 2000s, WHALE RIDER follows Pai Apirana (Castle-Hughes), a young girl from a line of tribal Maori leaders who longs to break tradition and learn the ways of her ancestors. Girls are forbidden from learning the skills that would make them leaders (at least according to her grandfather) but Pai is determined and searches for a way to prove herself.