Maori Boy Genius February 4, 2013

SCREEN CAFÉ
PRESENTS
MAORI BOY GENIUS

RIVERSIDE THEATRES
Monday 4 February 2013 at 7pm

Written, directed and produced by Pietra Brettkelly

Maori Boy Genius is a coming-of-age film profiling 16 year old Ngaa Rauuira Pumanawawhiti, railing against his people’s statics of uneducated youth, prisons, gangs and alarming suicide rates. This fascinating documentary is screening at Riverside Theatres on Monday, 4 February as a part of the Screen Café 2013 series.

President Obama broke the mould. Now, a New Zealand teenager is breaking the mould and may eventually stand in history with such a leader. At age 4 he learnt English. At age 13 he graduated university with a degree in Maori studies. At 14 he Googled international politics and up came Yale University. At 16 he enrols in a Yale summer class and heads to the States with his father as a chaperone.

“Ngaa carries the expectation of his people,” says director Pietra Brettkelly. “But he’s also a kid who laughs about girlfriends, or simply wants to hang out with his mates.”

Pietra Brettkelly is a New Zealand documentary director and producer, best known for her Sundance award-winning film The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins.

Screen Café is a series of monthly film screenings at Riverside Theatres which brings film enthusiasts and filmmakers together to watch, learn, discuss and network in a candid, interactive and inclusive atmosphere.