Pouākai (Raptor)

When his only child is snatched by a legendary giant raptor, a young Māori chief must confront his deepest fears and summon the strength of his ancestors to face the creature in its mountaintop eyrie.

Aotearoa New Zealand | 2026 | Fiction | 15m | Māori

Director: Libby Hakaraia ((Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kapu, Ngāti Toa Rangatira)

Libby Hakaraia, a Sundance fellow and Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, has 27 years of experience in film and television production. Former director of the Māoriland Film Festival, she is an award-winning filmmaker who has produced 30 short films and two features, Cousins and Kōkā.

Producers:

  • Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa)

  • Desray Armstrong (Te Aitanga-ā-Hauiti, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Ira, Pākehā)

Contact:

Madeleine de Young, maddy@maorilandfilm.co.nz

  • “We wanted to show humanity as part of an epic environment where we are not the apex predators. Fear and dread enters into this intimate human world. This propels the drama - the depth of love a parent has for a child.” says director Libby Hakaraia.

    Scoop News

Set in ancient Aotearoa, 1000 years ago, Raptor tells the story of a chief whose child is taken by a Haast eagle, known to Māori as a Pouākai. Driven by love, he scales the mountains to confront the giant raptor.

The majestic scale of the film’s story features incredible New Zealand scenery and the work of WētāFX.