On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.
"Whale Rider" — movie produced in Germany and New Zealand and released in 2002. It has a great rating on IMDb: 7.5 stars out of 10. It is a feature-length film with a runtime of 1h 41min. "Whale Rider" is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime and Tubi and for rent and to buy on Apple TV, Amazon Store and Rakuten TV. Click on a playlink to watch it now!