EXCLUSIVE: Boutique distribution company The Forge has acquired North American rights for award-winning New Zealand drama We Were Dangerous.
The film originally world premiered at SXSW last year, where it won the Special Jury Award, and has since been given a theatrical run by Madman Entertainment and Piki Films in New Zealand and Australia.
The Forge plans to release the film theatrically in more than 20 markets from April 4, 2025.
Starring the ensemble cast of Rima Te Wiata, Erana James, Nathalie Morris and Manaia Hall, the coming-of-age film follows a trio of Māori teenagers at the Te Motu School for Incorrigible and Delinquent Girls on an isolated island in 1954.
The girls develop a strong friendship as they rebel against the institution’s Christian indoctrination.
It is the debut film of Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, with a screenplay by Maddie Dai and Taika Waititi, Carthew Neal, Bill Way, Elliott Whitton and Emily Gotto serving as executive producers.
Morgan Waru and Polly Fryer produce under the banner of Piki Films, with filming taking place in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand with a supporting cast of young women comprised of local non-actors.
“We Were Dangerous is exactly the kind of bold, urgent, and fiercely original storytelling that The Forge was built to champion,” said The Forge CEO Mark Sayre.
“Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s powerful feature debut is a vital, deeply felt story of resistance, girlhood, and survival, one that resonates far beyond its period setting. We are honored to bring this remarkable film to North American audiences and can’t wait for them to experience its raw emotion, stunning performances, and unflinching vision on the big screen.”
The acquisition was brokered by Sayre and Head of Acquisitions Decker Sadowski on behalf of The Forge, and Victoria Romley and Maddie Neil at WME Independent and Carthew Neal on behalf of Piki Films.
Reason8are selling international rights to We Were Dangerous at the European Film Market in Berlin this week.
The movie was made with investment from the New Zealand Film Commission, the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Grant, Fit Via Vi, Screen CanterburyNZ, Department of Post, Native Audio, and Kiwibank.
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