Story: Feature film

The Maori merchant of Venice, 2002

The Maori merchant of Venice, 2002

In this scene from the 2002 film version of Te tangata whai rawa o Weniti (Shakespeare's The merchant of Venice translated into Māori) are (from left) Te Rangihau Gilbert as Bassanio, Sonny Kirikiri as Gratiano and Te Kauhoe Wano as Salarino. The play was translated by the Māori scholar Pei Te Hurinui Jones in 1946. It was first performed as a stage play in 1990, with the veteran Māori actor Don Selwyn as director and producer. Waihoroi Shortland played Shylock, and 12 years later he reprised the role in the film version, also directed and produced by Selwyn. This was the first Shakespearean film to be produced in New Zealand, and the first Māori-language feature film.

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He Taonga Films
Photograph by Kirsty Griffin

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How to cite this page:

Helen Martin, 'Feature film - The 2000s: the digital wave', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/42494/the-maori-merchant-of-venice-2002 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Helen Martin, published 22 Oct 2014