Whale Rider, fantastic!

A couple of years ago my (then) Kiwi boyfriend--who aside from being hunky and kewl is doing his D.Mus in opera composition at the U of Auckland--was working for some mates on a film. It was set on the East coast of New Zealand's North Island, just up from Gisborne...Kiwi man grew up there, and while he's pure pakeha (Caucasian), he's very much in-tune with the Maori culture of the region.

Anyways the film has been out for several months in NZ, and is doing the festival circuit. It's already won audience prizes in Toronto and Sundance.

It's called Whale Rider, and it's fookin awesome. Moving, substantive, it honours and challenges. Fantastic performances. Keep an eye out for it in your neck of the woods (it's due for some release in North America in July/August)....

After having heard about it for so long, I mostly expected to be disappointed. I wasn't.

(no subject)

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: John Patrick Joseph Egan
-- Birth date: 28 February 1964
-- Birthplace: Manhattan, NYC, NY, USA
-- Current Location: Sydney Australia
-- Eye Color: Dark Brown
-- Height: 167cm/5'6"
-- Righty or Lefty: Righty, but goofy foot for board sports
-- Zodiac Sign: Pisces/Dragon

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: Irish,
-- The shoes you wore today: hiker/runners
-- Your weakness: crap food, men
-- Your fears: burning, current world events
-- Your perfect pizza: real NY pizza, cheese and tomato sauce.
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: Save the world

LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase on AIM: k
-- Your thoughts first waking up: *cuddles teddy bear*
-- Your best physical feature: eyes, bum or legs...it's a toss-up
-- Your bedtime: 2am
-- Your most missed memory: the snow-capped Coast Mountains, glowing green with the city of Vancouver in the foreground

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Coke
-- McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
-- Single or group dates: Single
-- Adidas or Nike: Neither
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Neither
-- Chocolate or vanilla: vanilla
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Flat white, a form of capuccino. But prefer orange pekoe (PG Tips)

LAYER FIVE:
-- smoke:gross. ick. no. total dealbreaker
-- Cuss: Oh yeah. way less than I used to but still too often
-- Sing:lots
-- Have a crush(es): at least 5 on the go at any given time
-- Do you think you've been in love: a few times
-- Want to go to college: Already degreed out (PhD)
-- Like(d) high school: miserable
-- Want to get married: Fight for the right, would only do it if it could be in a Catholic ceremony (hey, tradition is tradition)
-- Believe in yourself: Yes. Rely on many though
-- Get motion sickness: no
-- Think you're attractive: Oh yes, not to all but to enough. thank gawd
-- Think you're a health freak: no
-- Get along with your parents: with distance, yes
-- Like thunderstorms: Ya! Kewl
-- Play an instrument: no....

LAYER SIX:
In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: No
-- Smoked: no
-- Done a drug: no
-- Had Sex: Yes
-- Made Out: Yes
-- Gone on a date: yes
-- Gone to the mall?: Yes
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos: no
-- Eaten sushi: No
-- Been on stage: No
-- Been dumped: No
-- Gone skating: yes
-- Made homemade cookies: No
-- Gone skinny dipping: No
-- Dyed your hair: No
-- Stolen anything: No

LAYER SEVEN:
Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yes
-- If so, was it mixed company: Yes
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes
-- Been caught "doing something": Yes
-- Been called a tease: Yes
-- Gotten beaten up: Yes
-- Shoplifted: yes

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married:N/A
-- Numbers and Names of Children: N/A
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: St. Francis de Sales Church, Belle Harbour, the whole family in attendance
-- How do you want to die: in my sleep
-- Where you want to go to college: UBC of course (been there, done that)
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: someone who makes a difference
-- What country would you most like to visit: Canada

LAYER NINE:
In a guy/girl..
-- Best eye color? blue
-- Best hair color? dark/black or brown
-- Short or long hair: short
-- height: taller than me
-- Best weight: between emaciated and obese
-- Best articles of clothing: duh, what a vapid question...
-- Best first date location: coffee
-- Best first kiss location: in one of our apartments

LAYER TEN:
-- Number of drugs taken illegally: 7 illicit, probably another 5 licit
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: 7
-- Number of CDs that I own: hundreds
-- Number of piercings: 2 in one ear (used to be 2 in each), nipple (no longer), PA
-- Number of tattoos: 3
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper? 10?
-- Number of scars on my body: 10+
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: experiencing addiction and putting my loved one's through it