---
title: 'Once Were Warriors (1994)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Lee Tamahori'
released: '1994-01-01'
runtime_minutes: 99
genres:
  - 'Drama'
countries:
  - 'New Zealand'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/once-were-warriors-1994'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110729/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# Once Were Warriors (1994)

1994 · 99 min · Drama · New Zealand


## Synopsis

Once Were Warriors is a 1994 New Zealand tragedy film based on New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling 1990 first novel. The film tells the story of the Heke family, an urban Māori whānau living in South Auckland, and their problems with poverty, tobacco, gambling, drugs, alcoholism, and domestic violence, mostly brought on by the patriarch, Jake. It explores the detrimental effects of the colonisation of New Zealand suffered by Māori, and the survival of Māori culture against all odds.

## Credits

- **Screenplay:** [Riwia Brown](https://cinepixo.com/people/riwia-brown)
- **Director:** [Lee Tamahori](https://cinepixo.com/people/lee-tamahori)
- **Director of Photography:** [Stuart Dryburgh](https://cinepixo.com/people/stuart-dryburgh)
- **Editor:** [Michael J. Horton](https://cinepixo.com/people/michael-j-horton)

## Cast

- [Riwia Brown](https://cinepixo.com/people/riwia-brown)
- [Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell](https://cinepixo.com/people/mamaengaroa-kerr-bell)
- [Julian Arahanga](https://cinepixo.com/people/julian-arahanga)
- [Temuera Morrison](https://cinepixo.com/people/temuera-morrison) as Jake Heke
- [Cliff Curtis](https://cinepixo.com/people/cliff-curtis)
- [Ian Mune](https://cinepixo.com/people/ian-mune)
- [Rena Owen](https://cinepixo.com/people/rena-owen)

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/once-were-warriors-1994
Film facts: Wikidata (Q919579); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.