A Film by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith
Mata, Missy and Makareta. Three cousins. Three lives. Separate, yet bound together forever. Orphaned Mata believes she has no whānau (family) and lives out her lonely childhood in fear and bewilderment. Back home on the land, educated Makareta flees an arranged marriage to study law and begin the search for her missing cousin. She leaves behind cheeky yet dutiful Missy who takes on her role of kaitiaki (guardian) of the land. As the years pass and land surveyors begin to encroach, their promise to bring their stolen cousin home seems more unlikely than ever, until a chance encounter changes everything.
Directed by Briar Grace-Smith and Ainsley Gardiner • Screenplay by Briar Grace-Smith • Produced by Georgina Conder, Ainsley Gardiner, and Libby Hakaraia
The film trembles with sound, color and feeling, deriving much of its power from an excellent ensemble cast.
Cousins
A Film by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith
Mata, Missy and Makareta. Three cousins. Three lives. Separate, yet bound together forever. Orphaned Mata believes she has no whānau (family) and lives out her lonely childhood in fear and bewilderment. Back home on the land, educated Makareta flees an arranged marriage to study law and begin the search for her missing cousin. She leaves behind cheeky yet dutiful Missy who takes on her role of kaitiaki (guardian) of the land. As the years pass and land surveyors begin to encroach, their promise to bring their stolen cousin home seems more unlikely than ever, until a chance encounter changes everything.
Directed by Briar Grace-Smith and Ainsley Gardiner • Screenplay by Briar Grace-Smith • Produced by Georgina Conder, Ainsley Gardiner, and Libby Hakaraia
The film trembles with sound, color and feeling, deriving much of its power from an excellent ensemble cast.
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In the News
Array Releasing Boards New Zealand Indigenous Drama ‘Cousins’
Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Array collective, has picked up North America, UK and Ireland rights on the feature Cousins, helmed by Māori filmmaking duo Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith.
‘Cousins’ Review: The Ties That Bind
This sprawling drama breathes cinematic life into the 1992 novel by Patricia Grace about the diverging paths of three Maori cousins in New Zealand.
In the News
Array Releasing Boards New Zealand Indigenous Drama ‘Cousins’
Array Releasing, the distribution arm of Ava DuVernay’s Array collective, has picked up North America, UK and Ireland rights on the feature Cousins, helmed by Māori filmmaking duo Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith.
‘Cousins’ Review: The Ties That Bind
This sprawling drama breathes cinematic life into the 1992 novel by Patricia Grace about the diverging paths of three Maori cousins in New Zealand.