Once Were Warriors (1995)

Rena Owen, Actor, Actress, New Zealand, Star Wars, Once Were Warriors, Kiwi, The Dead Lands, film, movies, movie, The Last Witch Hunter, Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, Longmire, Shortland Street

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Once Were Warriors (1995)

Once Were Warriors (1995)
Beth Heke

Awards
Best Actress Independent Spirit Awards Cannes Film Festival, France (1995) Toastmasters Communicator of the Year, New Zealand (1995) Benny Award for Excellence in Film, New Zealand (1995) Best Actress Award, Oporto Film Festival, Portugal (1995) Best Actress Award, San Diego Film Festival (1995) Best Actress Award, Montreal Film Festival (1995)

Synopsis
For Jake and Beth Heke, life in their suburban ghetto is going from bad to worse. Jake’s just lost his job, their delinquent teenage son Boogie has to appear in court and they can’t make ends meet with five growing kids. Late that night, they host another one of Jake’s raunchy drinking parties while the children lie awake in their bedroom. When their oldest son asks for money, which Beth discovers Jake has gambled away, it ignites a vicious argument that Jake solves by giving Beth one of his brutal beatings. The tide of violence continues to ebb and flow in the Heke household until a terrible tragedy makes them confront the dysfunctional state of their family.

Articles and Interviews
An interview with Rena Owen, the star of Once Were Warriors by Tobe A. Roberts IV, CINEMA WITHOUT BORDERS, June 19, 2007Warrior Woman Beth Heke is the central figure in ‘Once Were Warriors’, a film based on the novel by Alan Duff. Beth is played, unforgettably, by Rena Owen. by Katherine Findlay, Mana Magazine, May 1, 1995Once Were Warriors, Now Are Movie Stars Kiwi actress Rena Owen, newly crowned Best Actress at the Montreal Film Festival, stars in New Zealand’s biggest box-office smash. by Cullen Gerst, MovieMaker, April 1, 1995For Actress Rena Owen, ‘Warriors’ Is More Than a Role The 34-year-old Maori has personal experience with the cultural subjugation portrayed in the film about New Zealand’s indigenous people by Ken Shulman, Los Angeles Times, March 10, 1995 Film on Abuse Takes New Zealand by Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle, March 3, 1995 On Top of Down Under It was a battle between a Kiwi and a Tyrannosaurus Rex – and the Kiwi won by Juan Morales, Detour Magazine, March 1, 1995 Warrior Woman by Alex Patterson, Voice, February 28, 1995 A Bette Davis from Down Under A new film from New Zealand is hard-boiled, gritty, and fascinating. So is its powerhouse star. by B. Ruby Rich, Elle Magazine, February 1, 1995 Surviving the Game Rena Owen fights her way from ex-con to icon by Holly Millea, Premiere Magazine, February 1, 1995 The Warrior Woman by Murray Waldren, The Australian Magazine, December 10, 1994 Rena Owen: Acting on Instinct Rena Owen confronted family ghosts for the inspiration behind her riveting performance in ‘Once Were Warriors’ by Pamela Stirling, New Zealand Listener, July 30, 1994 Warriors Stars Pick Up the Pieces Actors Temuera Morrison and Rena Owen had to dig deep for the emotionally demanding roles they play in a film that forces us to confront some painful truths by James Graham, Woman’s Day Magazine, May 10, 1994

News
Oscar Comparison for Warriors’ Rena, November 9, 1994 Free “Once Were Warriors” screening with Rena Owen, April 30, 2005

Official Site