Award-winning actress Rena Owen plays Dame Whina Cooper in the new biopic on her life, 'Whina'. Photo / Jen Raoult
Award-winning actress Rena Owen plays Dame Whina Cooper in the new biopic on her life, 'Whina'. Photo / Jen Raoult
The premiere event of the film Whina in Kerikeri is shaping up to be a star-studded whānau affair with a great cause at its core.
The screening of the biopic will be at Cathay Cinema on June 23 from 6-11pm where audiences will rub shoulders with VIPs acclaimed actress Rena Owen and Irene Cooper, Dame Whina's granddaughter.
Irene's sister Catherine will also be at the screening to celebrate their grandmother's life, along with Paula Whetu Jones, who directed the film James Napier Robertson, and several of Rena Owen's whānau.
The event is a fundraiser for the Kerikeri-based Bald Angels Charitable Trust, which supports at-risk youth and needy families via its various networks and programmes.
Bald Angels founder Therese Wickbom said though the screening had sold out within 48 hours, "we still have a handful of tickets up our sleeves".
Tickets cost $50 each and include a meeting with Dame Whina's whānau and Rena Owen, along with canapés and a complimentary drink.
The "angel auction" would be a great way to make a difference for vulnerable children and young people in Tai Tokerau, Wickbom said.
Dame Whina Cooper spent her life breaking boundaries, speaking for the rights of Māori, and fighting for the land. Photo / file
"We'll be auctioning off essential item packages such as car seats, winter clothing packs and support for our youth transitioning into the workforce, plus some special celebrity memorabilia," she said.
Whina follows the life of trailblazing Māori leader Dame Whina Cooper, who spent her life breaking boundaries, speaking for the rights of Māori, and fighting for the land.
Once Were Warriors star Rena Owen, who grew up in Moerewa, took on the role of an older Whina Cooper, with Miriama McDowell playing younger Whina Cooper and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne as the teenage version.
Irene Cooper was three years old when she was photographed with her grandmother as she led the 1975 hīkoi from Te Hapua in the Far North to Wellington in protest against stolen Māori land.
Kaumatua Arena Munro and kuia Hana Munro, from Ngāti Rehia, will open the film screening event, leading the powhiri at 5.45pm.
All proceeds raised will go toward caring for vulnerable tamariki in the Far North.
Wickbom said Dame Whina's teachings about looking after our children aligned with the Bald Angels message.
Dame Whina's granddaughter Irene Cooper said her grandmother paved the way for strong Māori women. Photo / Peter de Graaf
"Dame Whina said: 'Take care of our children. Take care of what they hear. Take care of what they see. Take care of how they feel, for how the children grow, so will be the shape of Aotearoa'.
"Her famous quote hit me in my heart when I first heard it," Wickbom said.
"No truer words were said.
"If we do not take care of our children and the world they grow up in, we are asking for a very grim future."
