	An initiative of the EU MEDIA Programme with the support of the Italian Government Since 1992 MEDIA Salles has been promoting the European cinema and its circulation at theatrical level
	EURO KIDS - SCREENINGS 2003/2004

Whale Rider
Original Title	Whale Rider
Director	Niki Caro
Genre	Drama / Family
Country of origin	New Zealand / Germany
Language spoken	English / Maori
Year of production	2002
Admissions	294,598 (Germany, 14 September 2003)
Box Office	$ 20,772,796 (USA, as at 23 November 2003)
Production	ApolloMedia (D) New Zealand Film Commission (NZ) New Zealand Film Production Fund (NZ) New Zealand On Air (NZ) Pandora Filmproduktion GmbH (D) South Pacific Pictures
Domestic distribution/World Sales	BIM Distribuzione [it] (2003) (Italy) (theatrical) Buena Vista (Australia) [au] (2003) (Australia) Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment [us] (2003) (USA) (DVD) Filmladen [at] (Austria) (theatrical) First Distributors (H.K.) Ltd. (HK) Herald Film Company (JP) (Japan) Icon Film Distribution Ltd. (UK) Manga Films S.L. (E) (Spain) Newmarket Film Group (2003) (USA) Pandora Film (D) (Germany) RCV Film Distribution (NL) (Belgium) RCV Film Distribution (NL) (Luxembourg) RCV Film Distribution (NL) (Netherlands) South Pacific Pictures Telexcel (AR) (Argentina)
Domestic release	30 January 2003 (New Zealand) 14 August 2003 (Germany)
Official website	http://iconmovies.co.uk/whalerider (UK) www.whalerider.de (D) www.whaleriderthemovie.co.nz www.whaleriderthemovie.com (USA)
Awards	BAFTA Awards 2003 (BAFTA Childrens’ Award – Best Feature Film) Broadcast Film Critics Association Award 2004 (BFCA Award – Best Young Actor/Actress) Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2004 (CFCA Award – Most Promising Performer) Chicago International Children’s Film Festival 2003 (Children’s Jury Award – Live-Action Feature Film or Video) Cinemanila International Film Festival 2003 (Special Jury Prize) Humanitas Prize 2003 (Humanitas Prize – Sundance Film Category) Independent Sprit Awards 2004 (Independent Spirit Award – Best Foreign Film) New Zealand Film and TV Awards 2003 (Film Award – Best Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film, Best Juvenile Performer, Best Original Music, Best Screenplay, Bes tSupporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress) Online Film Critics Society Awards 2004 (OFCS Award – Best Breakthrough Performance) Rotterdam International Film Festival 2003 (Audience Award) San Francisco International Film Festival 2003 (Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature) Seattle International Film Festival 2003 (Golden Space Needle Award – Best Director, Best Film) Sundance Film Festival 2003 (Audience Award – World Cinema) São Paulo International Film Festival 2003 (International Jury Award) Toronto International Film Festival 2002 (People’s Choice Award)
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List of Distributors

Release date	Country
8 May 2003	Australia
15 May 2003	Netherlands
4 July 2003	USA
11 July 2003	UK
25 July 2003	South Africa
25 July 2003	South Korea
14 August 2003	Israel
14 August 2003	Singapore
17 September 2003	France
19 September 2003	Austria
1 October 2003	Belgium
10 October 2003	Portugal
23 October 2003	Argentina
21 November 2003	Italy
28 November 2003	Sweden
26 December 2003	Norway
30 January 2004	Greece
6 February 2004	Brazil
19 February 2004	Czech Republic
12 March 2004	Iceland
26 March 2004	Mexico (Mexico City)
11 June 2004	Spain
27 August 2004	Denmark

SYNOPSIS

On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.