But when Porourangi visits from Germany some years later, all old conflicts flare anew — made worse by the news that this easygoing yet distant son is now expecting a child with a German girlfriend.

Her grandfather is Koro (Rawiri Paratene), chief of the Ngati Kanoahi tribe of Whangara, who's desperately seeking a male heir. His son, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), has no interest in taking over ...

This enhanced focus prompts many alterations, including Porourangi's second-act departure to Germany (convenient for both Curtis' busy shooting schedule and the film's German investors), the ...

Over Koro’s objections, the son, Porourangi (Cliff Curtis), names the surviving girl Pai after Paikea, the tribe’s founding ancestor who, legend has it, arrived in the village on a whale’s back.

In angry defiance, Porourangi names his daughter Pai, after the ancestral founder of the tribe, Paikea, the Whale Rider. Koro and Porourangi clash often, as Porourangi leaves the tribe behind for a ...

Heartbroken, Porourangi flees to Germany to practice his arts and crafts, leaving Paikea to be raised by her whip-smart grandmother Nanny Flowers (energetic Vicky Haughton) and sternly ...

Heartbroken, Porourangi flees to Germany to practice his arts and crafts, leaving Paikea to be raised by her whip-smart grandmother Nanny Flowers (energetic Vicky Haughton) and sternly ...

Heartbroken, Porourangi flees to Germany to practice his arts and crafts, leaving Paikea to be raised by her whip-smart grandmother Nanny Flowers (energetic Vicky Haughton) and sternly ...

Tawhiri Toheriri-Hallett, Porourangi Moeke-Murray and Zeke Tane travelled to Rotorua for the first Commonwealth Games boxing camp held last weekend.

Heartbroken, Porourangi flees to Germany to practice his arts and crafts, leaving Paikea to be raised by her whip-smart grandmother, Nanny Flowers (energetic Vicky Haughton), and sternly ...

But when Porourangi visits from Germany some years later, all old conflicts flare anew — made worse by the news that this easygoing yet distant son is now expecting a child with a German girlfriend.

Heartbroken, Porourangi flees to Germany to practice his arts and crafts, leaving Paikea to be raised by her whip-smart grandmother Nanny Flowers (energetic Vicky Haughton) and sternly ...