A little bit of Kiwi history comes our way as we now take a gander at a first look photo above featuring Tūhoe Māori activist, Tame Iti, as himself in the new upcoming action drama, Muru.
Tearepa Kahi (Poi E: The Story of our Song, Mt. Zion) is writer and director on the project which stars Cliff Curtis (Reminiscence, Fast And Furious Presents: Hobbs And Shaw), and has since been completed. The film is currently being repped by Arclight for world sales at the Cannes market.
Muru (a word that represents the Māori concept for reconciliation and forgiveness) is based on the 2007 Tuhoe police raids in New Zealand. Curtis stars as local Police Sergeant ‘Taffy’ Tawharau, who must choose between his badge and his people, when the Government launches an armed raid through his small Ruatoki community, in the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa. Following the police raids, it was Iti himself who was wrongfully arrested under suspicion of domestic terrorism.
Curtis is slated to appear later this year in James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way Of Water from 20th Century Studios. He, along with Iti, is joined by Jay Ryan (IT Chapter Two), Manu Bennett (The Hobbit trilogy) and Simone Kessell (San Andreas).
Iti is also producing the pic alongside Reikura Kahi and Selina Joe.