The story had already been told in documentary form, but Waititi combined this slightly fictionalized form with his signature sense of humor – a winning formula, if the enthusiastic applause from the crowd was any indication.
Waititi said on the red carpet, “I wanted to tell this story because it’s uplifting… I’d never tried to make a sports movie, so I just wanted to give myself a new challenge and push out of my comfort zone.” Wanted to get out of.”
The Māori filmmaker is at home in Toronto: his Nazi satire ‘Jojo Rabbit’ won the prestigious TIFF People’s Choice Award here in 2019, and an Oscar for Waititi for best adapted screenplay.
“For me, the most important thing is to put ourselves on screen — by that I mean Polynesians, Pacific Islanders, because we’re often overlooked, especially in terms of diversity conversations,” she said.
Rongen and transgender player Jayah Selua, whom Kaimana portrayed in a poignant performance in the film, were warmly welcomed by the audience and joined Waititi on stage for a brief post-screening question and answer session.
