Tweedie Waititi

{{Infobox person

| name = Tweedie Waititi

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| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|25|2011|05|01}}

| birth_place = Waihau Bay, Raukokore, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

| occupation = Film producer, director, writer

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Mateheke "Tweedie" Waititi (born {{birth based on age as of date|25|2011|05|01|noage=yes}}) 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",{{cite interview|first=Tweedie |last=Waititi |title=Tweedie Waititi on Redbands, marae kitchens and Meryl Streep |website=The Post |url=https://www.thepost.co.nz/culture/350317171/tweedie-waititi-redbands-marae-kitchens-and-meryl-streep|date=June 22, 2024 |access-date=5 November 2024}} was born on {{birth based on age as of date|25|2011|05|01|noage=yes}}. 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/features/4916738/Enter-the-taniwha |title=Enter the taniwha |first=Kim |last=Knight |website=Stuff |date=1 May 2021 |access-date=26 July 2022|quote=...says Tweedie, 25}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/kahu/te-reo-moana-kicks-off-maori-language-week-in-style/NMYXPVJWDLFRT7WWINT4EIQ3EI/ |title=Te reo Moana kicks off Māori Language Week in style |website=The New Zealand Herald |date=12 September 2017 |access-date=26 July 2022}}

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

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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.theatrescenes.co.nz/preview-troilus-and-cressida-auckland-town-hall-to-the-globe-theatre/ |title=Preview: Troilus and Cressida (Auckland Town Hall to The Globe Theatre) |website=Theatre Scenes |first=Sharu |last=Delilkan |date=6 April 2012 |access-date=26 July 2022}}

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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018824638/tweedie-waititi-bringing-disney-classics-into-te-ao-maori |title=Tweedie Waititi: Bringing Disney classics into te ao Māori |website=Radio New Zealand |date=15 December 2021 |access-date=26 July 2022}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Haunui-Thompson |first1=Shannon |title=Moana in Māori hits the big screen |url=https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/339186/moana-in-maori-hits-the-big-screen |website=Radio New Zealand |date=11 September 2017 |publisher=Radio New Zealand |access-date=December 2, 2017 }} Waititi also translated the subtitles for her cousin's film Thor: Ragnarok into Māori, for the home media and aircraft release of the film.{{Cite web |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/101580159/thor-rangarok-will-have-mori-subtitles-says-the-sister-of-director-taika-waititi |title=Thor: Rangarok will have Māori subtitles, says the sister of director Taika Waititi |website=Stuff |date=20 February 2018 |access-date=26 July 2022}}

In 2020, Waititi worked as a script consultant on the LGBT film Rūrangi, to help develop authentic Māori storylines for the production.{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcOOXVWHSvs|title=Rūrangi {{!}} Q&A with Director Max Currie, Producers Craig Gainsborough, Cole Meyers and Elz Carrad|date=2020-08-10|publisher=New Zealand International Film Festival}} 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).{{Cite web |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/rotoruas-cian-elyse-white-wins-at-show-me-shorts-festival/IOXVJHDQNUG5LZYJJCYXALLAS4/ |title=Rotorua's Cian Elyse White wins at Show Me Shorts Festival |first=Danielle |last=Campbell |work=Rotorua Daily Post |publisher=The New Zealand Herald |date=16 October 2020 |access-date=26 July 2022}} 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.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/bathe-in-the-river-korukutia-2021/overview |title=Bathe in the River / Kōrukutia |website=NZ On Screen |access-date=26 July 2022}}

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/469595/lion-king-reo-maori-premiere-a-dream-come-true |title=Lion King Reo Māori premiere: 'A dream come true' |access-date=June 22, 2022 |work=Radio New Zealand |date=June 22, 2022}}{{cite news |url=https://www.morefm.co.nz/home/goss/2022/07/a-te-reo-m_ori-version-of-disney-s--frozen--is-coming-and-it-s-s.html |title=A Te Reo Māori version Of Disney's 'Frozen' is coming and it's sooner than you might think |work=More FM|date=5 July 2022 |access-date=9 July 2022}}

Waititi directed and produced the Māori version of Moana 2, which uses the Tairāwhiti dialect.{{cite web|title=Moana 2 in reo Māori language to launch alongside global release |website=The Express Tribune |date=23 October 2024 |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2504828/moana-2-in-reo-maori-language-to-launch-alongside-global-release |access-date=5 November 2024}} 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.{{cite web |last=Fryer |first=Brooke |last2=Wellauer |first2=Kirstie |title=Moana 2 will premiere in Māori language alongside the English version in a world first |website=ABC News (Australia) |date=3 November 2024 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-03/moana-2-reo-maori-premiers-in-cinemas/104538038|access-date=2 November 2024}}{{cite web |last=Hatch |first=Brad |title=Global first day-and-date releases of 'Moana 2' and 'Moana 2 Reo Māori' on November 28, 2024 |website=Disney Australia |date=22 October 2024 |url=https://www.disney.com.au/news/global-first-moana-2-and-moana-2-reo-maori-dual-release |access-date=5 November 2024}}

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.

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! width=65 \| Director ! width=65 \| Writer ! width=65 \| 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}} \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! width=65 | Director

! width=65 | Writer

! width=65 | Producer

! Notes

2017

|Moana Reo Māori

| {{yes}}

2019

|Ways to See