Award-winning Series Rūrangi Secures Major Streaming Deals In NZ And USA

After capturing the hearts of audiences and critics around the nation and the world, Aotearoa created series Rūrangi has secured a major victory with the news that Season 1 is hitting streaming services both here and abroad – available for streaming exclusively with NEON in New Zealand in May 2021 and on Hulu in the USA in June 2021. Rūrangi has also been sold to Peccadillo Pictures in the UK who are aiming to release Rūrangi later in 2021, and Rialto Channel will be screening Rūrangi in New Zealand from June.

After skipping town a decade ago, transgender activist Caz Davis returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rūrangi, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn’t heard from him since before Caz transitioned.

Click here to watch the Rūrangi trailer

First introduced to audiences in a searing debut at the 2020 New Zealand International Film Festival, the film version of Rūrangi has gone on to enjoy audience acclaimed screenings at San Francisco’s Frameline and Sydney's Mardi Gras Film Festival, and a celebrated domestic cinema release throughout Aotearoa.

The ground-breaking production takes a dedicated approach to representation both on screen and behind the camera. In the face of the #metoo movement and a major push towards equality within the screen industry, there is an entire community of people that don't fall into either of the binaries who, historically, have been overlooked by mass movements of change; gender diverse people.

Although there has been progress in casting, resulting in occasional representation on larger mainstream productions, these roles are always supporting roles. Rūrangi is a production which tackles this lack of visibility not just through casting, but through the sharing of power and creative decision-making throughout its production structure. This includes the very top, with trans activist Cole Meyers credited as both Rūrangi’s series writer and co-producer.

Rūrangi is directed by Max Currie and created & written by Cole Meyers and Oliver Page. The cast includes: Elz Carrad, Kirk Torrance, Āwhina Rose Henare Ashby, Arlo Green, Ramon Te Wake, Aroha Rawson, Renee Lyons, Renée Sheridan. It is produced by Craig Gainsborough for Autonomouse and co-produced by Tweedie Waititi, Cole Meyers, Max Currie and Melissa Nickerson. The series has been created with support from NZ on Air, New Zealand Film Commission, Prospect Films, New Zealand Media and Entertainment and Goethe Institut.

The second season of the series is currently in development.

Review quotes:

“Rūrangi is a film about grief, forgiveness, and a heartfelt, sensitive, and nuanced look at identity through a trans lens... It proves how moving and powerful these kinds of films can be if they are told by the right people. Hollywood, pay attention.”
– Sara Clements, Awards Watch

“Rurangi is a film that is all in the character details, and is filled with so many beautiful, lived in performances... an emotionally satisfying and cathartic experience.”
– Alex Heeney, Seventh Row

“A momentous victory for trans representation.”
– Seth Eeley, intoscreens

“Ground-breaking.”
– Sarah Watt, NZ Listener .5

“Rūrangi is a film to celebrate and enjoy. It is also – and I've never written this in a review before – a film that will quite probably save a few lives. I hope that everyone who needs to see it, somehow gets the opportunity.”
– Graeme Tuckett, Stuff

“Even the darkest moments of this film feel like a triumph because of the deftness and fresh approach with which they’re handled. For a trans audience, seeing Rūrangi will feel like coming home for the first time..”
– Amelia Berry, Flicks.co.nz

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