Mark Ruka

Mark Ruka

Profile

Mark Ruka

Movies

Resolve
Tama Garlick
Based on the true story of Chris Crean, who took a stand against gang violence in his community only to become a target himself.
Mahana
It is the 1960s. Two Maori families, the Mahanas and the Poatas, make a living shearing sheep on the east coast of New Zealand. The two clans, who are bitter enemies, face each other as rivals at the annual sheep shearing competitions. Simeon is a 14-year-old scion of the Mahana clan. A courageous schoolboy, he rebels against his authoritarian grandfather Tamihana and his traditional ways of thinking and begins to unravel the reasons for the long-standing feud between the two families. Before long, the hierarchies and established structures of the community are in disarray because Tamihana, who is as stubborn as he is proud, is not prepared to acquiesce and pursue new paths. The story is adapted from Witi Ihimaera's novel Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies.
Abandoned
Shane
In 1989 the trimaran Rose Noelle set sail from Picton, New Zealand, bound for Tonga with four crew. After a freak wave capsized the yacht, they drifted for 119 days before landing on Great Barrier Island.
Wrong
Riqi
Two mates walk past a carpark when they witness a potential violation of a women. Lucky for her there hunch was right.
Matariki
Tama
A random act of violence leaves eight people in crisis, searching for hope and new beginnings, as the Matariki constellation (Maori New Year) rises in the Southern skies.
Stolen
Jarmie Piripi
Based on a true story, STOLEN is an emotional thriller about every parent's greatest fear. Kahu Durie - the adopted baby daughter of Maori High Court Judge, Justice Eddie Durie and prominent lawyer, Donna Hall - is snatched at gunpoint as Donna pushes the pram in the street. Nine tense days follow and the nation is gripped by brave television appeals for the baby's safe return. Following Donna Hall's emotional public plea, a letter arrives, demanding the highest ransom in New Zealand's history. The police work tirelessly and the net closes on a secluded house...Terence Traynor became intent on committing a perfect crime, motivated by greed and inspired by American TV.
No. 2
Da Baker
A matriarch organizes a feast with her family, in which she will name her successor. The heart has gone out of Nanna Maria's family. There are no parties — they don't even fight anymore...
River Queen
Hone
An intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand.
Tama Tū
Māori Battalion Soldier
Six Māori Battalion soldiers camped in Italian ruins wait for night to fall. In the silence, the bros-in-arms distract themselves with jokes. A tohu (sign) brings them back to reality, and they gather to say a karakia before returning to the fray. Director Taika Waititi describes the soldiers as young men with "a special bond, strengthened by their character, their culture and each other." Shot in the rubble of the old Wellington Hospital, Tama Tū won international acclaim. Invited to over 40 international festivals, its many awards included honourable mentions at Sundance and Berlin.