Next generation of Kiwi films revealed

Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) and Uncle Hec (Sam Neill) in Hunt for the Wilderpeople directed by Taika Waititi (supplied).

Images from the next wave of New Zealand films - both adaptations of prominent writers by leading directors - have been revealed.

The first official image from Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Taika Waititi's take on the Barry Crump tale Wild Pork and Watercress is out today.

It shows Sam Neill as Uncle Hec on the lam in the bush with foster nephew Ricky played by Julian Dennison, who made his feature debut in Shopping.

"I don't think Sam or Julian had ever spent much time in the bush before so when you see them in this film you'll know they're really acting," says Waititi whose next film project will be a the third Thor movie for Marvel.

"People will fall in love with these underdog characters as they take us on an exciting adventure through the New Zealand wilderness. The bond they form along the way endears us to them even more" says Waititi.

The movie also stars Rima Te Wiata, Oscar Kightley, Stan Walker and Rhys Darby.

The film is currently in post production and is due out early next year.

Meanwhile, Mahana which marks the return home of director Lee Tamahori is to be released in cinemas in early March next year.

It's an adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's novel Bulibasha:King of the Gypsies set in 1960s rural New Zealand and tells of the feud between two rival East Coast shearing families.

Temuera Morrison in Mahana directed by Lee Tamahori.

The film stars Temuera Morrison, who Tamahori directed in breakthrough film Once Were Warriors, as the patriarch of the Mahana clan.

Tamahori: "I wanted to do a film about the East Coast from this era and Witi is the person who has been telling these stories. I had always wanted to film one of his stories, so when [producer] Robin Scholes came along with the rights, it was a perfect fit. I wanted it to be a loving postcard to a period that I know very well."

"Mahana is very much a coming home for Lee," says Scholes.

"Lee's exceptional talents as a filmmaker were evident in Once Were Warriors and from that moment on the offers flowed in for bigger and bigger budget films. It's very rare for people to return, let alone to a film with a much lower budget than anything he's done since Warriors. We have Witi to thank for this. His book really appealed to Lee because it's about the people he knows and loves and wants to see portrayed in film".

Mahana follows screen adaptations of Ihimaera's books The Whale Rider and White Lies.

- nzherald.co.nz