Tweedie Waititi

Tweedie Waititi
Born1985 or 1986 (age 38–39)
Waihau Bay, Raukokore, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Occupation(s)Film producer, director, writer

Mateheke "Tweedie" Waititi (born 1985 or 1986) is a New Zealand film director and producer. The whāngai sister of Taika Waititi, she is best known for her work co-directing production company Matewa Media, which since 2016 has produced Māori language versions of Disney animated films.

Early life and education

Mateheke Waititi, known as "Tweedie",[1] was born on 1985 or 1986. She grew up in the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui community of Waihau Bay in the Bay of Plenty. She is the first cousin of Taika Waititi, but as they were raised together through whāngai adoption, they consider each other siblings.[2][3]

Waititi studied film at the South Seas Film & Television School.[2]

Career

In 2012, she worked as a language coach for the Rachel House-directed production of William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, performed in Māori.[4]

In 2017, Waititi formed the production company Matewa Media alongside filmmaker (and then wife of Taika Waititi) Chelsea Winstanley. The company was named for Waititi's grandmother Matewa Delamere (1926–1998). Waititi and Winstanley were inspired to create Māori language adaptations of Disney films while watching Waititi's toddlers watch Moana on repeat, and hoping that they would be able to experience the film in Māori.[5] Taika Waititi, who had worked on an early draft of the English language version of the film, proposed the idea to Disney, who agreed and allowed Matewa Media to start work on the film. Moana Reo Māori was released in 2017, coinciding with Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) 2017.[6][5] Waititi also translated the subtitles for her cousin's film Thor: Ragnarok into Māori, for the home media and aircraft release of the film.[7]

In 2020, Waititi worked as a script consultant on the LGBT film Rūrangi, to help develop authentic Māori storylines for the production.[8] Waititi won the Department of Post Best New Zealand Film at the Show Me Shorts film festival in 2020, for producing the short film Daddy's Girl (Kōtiro).[9] The following year, she translated the song "Bathe in the River" (2006) by Hollie Smith into Māori, as a part of the Waiata / Anthems project.[10]

In 2022, Waititi produced two Māori language adaptations of Disney films: The Lion King (originally released 1994), released during Matariki, and Frozen (originally released 2013), released in 2022.[11][12]

Waititi directed and produced the Māori version of Moana 2, which uses the Tairāwhiti dialect.[13] When it is released on 27 November 2024, it will be the first time ever that a Disney film is released in an Indigenous language at the same time as its English-language release.[14][15]

Dialects

Waititi represents a range of Māori dialects in her adaptations. For The Lion King, different animals were represented with Waikato Tainui and Ngāi Tūhoe dialects. For Frozen, Waititi chose to represent southern Ngāi Tahu dialects, to match the snowy atmosphere of the film.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2017 Moana Reo Māori Yes Yes Yes
2019 Ways to See No No Yes Short film
2019 Daddy's Girl (Kōtiro) No No Yes Short film
2020 Rūrangi No Yes Yes Consultant writer
2022 The Lion King Reo Māori Yes Yes Yes
2022 Frozen Reo Māori Yes Yes Yes
2024 Moana 2 Reo Māori Yes Yes Yes

References

  1. ^ Waititi, Tweedie (22 June 2024). "Tweedie Waititi on Redbands, marae kitchens and Meryl Streep". The Post (Interview). Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Knight, Kim (1 May 2021). "Enter the taniwha". Stuff. Retrieved 26 July 2022. ...says Tweedie, 25
  3. ^ "Te reo Moana kicks off Māori Language Week in style". The New Zealand Herald. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  4. ^ Delilkan, Sharu (6 April 2012). "Preview: Troilus and Cressida (Auckland Town Hall to The Globe Theatre)". Theatre Scenes. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Tweedie Waititi: Bringing Disney classics into te ao Māori". Radio New Zealand. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  6. ^ Haunui-Thompson, Shannon (11 September 2017). "Moana in Māori hits the big screen". Radio New Zealand. Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Thor: Rangarok will have Māori subtitles, says the sister of director Taika Waititi". Stuff. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  8. ^ Rūrangi | Q&A with Director Max Currie, Producers Craig Gainsborough, Cole Meyers and Elz Carrad. New Zealand International Film Festival. 10 August 2020.
  9. ^ Campbell, Danielle (16 October 2020). "Rotorua's Cian Elyse White wins at Show Me Shorts Festival". Rotorua Daily Post. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Bathe in the River / Kōrukutia". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Lion King Reo Māori premiere: 'A dream come true'". Radio New Zealand. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  12. ^ "A Te Reo Māori version Of Disney's 'Frozen' is coming and it's sooner than you might think". More FM. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Moana 2 in reo Māori language to launch alongside global release". The Express Tribune. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  14. ^ Fryer, Brooke; Wellauer, Kirstie (3 November 2024). "Moana 2 will premiere in Māori language alongside the English version in a world first". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  15. ^ Hatch, Brad (22 October 2024). "Global first day-and-date releases of 'Moana 2' and 'Moana 2 Reo Māori' on November 28, 2024". Disney Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2024.