The Raid

The film tells the story of a police sergeant serving in a remote Maori community. Using its counter terrorism powers the government decides to launch an armed raid on that community, and the raid falls on a school day. The sergeant has to decide whether his duty is to his badge or to his own people. In the work’s own words this is not a re-creation but a response to raids that took place in 2007; rather than reproducing events it is an account built on top of them. The film’s title is a Maori concept for forgiveness. Cliff Curtis plays the lead in Tearepa Kahi’s hundred and four minute New Zealand film, completed in 2022.