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Waka Huia

An old man of Maori origin crosses the world between dream and reality in the footsteps of his grandfather killed in Belgium during the First World War.

  • Laurent Leprince
    Director
  • Laurent Leprince
    Writer
  • Philippe Carreau
    Writer
  • Geert Van Goethem
    Producer
  • Linda Sterckx
    Producer
  • Thierry Zamparutti
    Producer
  • Serge Kestemont
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Waka Huia
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Genres:
    Adventure, Pacific Islanders, Old age, Maori, WWI, Cultural exchange, War movie, Historical movie, Indigenous people, Road movie, Portrait
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 13 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 22, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    Belgium
  • Country of Filming:
    Belgium
  • Shooting Format:
    2D
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Short to the Point

    Romania
  • KO:SH Film Festival

    Albania
  • Feel The Reel International Film Festival

    United Kingdom
    Best animation film
  • Festival Internazionale del cinema d’animazione, del fumetto e dei games

    Italy
  • Promofest

    Spain
    Mention
  • CineX

    United States
  • Paragon Film Fest

    United States
    Special mention
  • Dumbo Film Festival

    United States
    Best animation (March 2019)
  • Animasivo

    Mexico
  • 5th Animation Marathon

    Greece
  • Short Long World Festival

    Argentina
  • Icona Film Festival

    Greece
    Best professional short animation
  • Linea d'Ombra Festival

    Italy
  • Madriff

    Spain
  • Kiffi-Jaipur

    India
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji International Film Festival

    India
    Best direction
  • International short film festival

    Croatia
  • Chennai International Short Film Festival

    India
  • Speechless Film Festival

    United States
  • Festival détours en Cinécourt

    France
  • 18th MUMIA Mostra

    Brazil
  • Crown Wood International Film Festival

    India
    Best Travel Film
  • Maoriland Film Festival

    New Zealand
  • Travel FilmFest International Film Festival

    Cyprus
  • Athens AnimFest

    Greece
Distribution Information
  • Thierry Zamparutti (Ambiances...)
    Country: Belgium
  • Linda Sterckx (S.O.I.L.)
    Country: Belgium
Director Biography - Laurent Leprince

After studying languages and management to please my parents, I enrolled in evening classes at Saint-Luc, a Brussels art school famous for its training in comic strips. In 2003, I got a scholarship for an intensive training in animation in Germany with Raimund Krumme as a teacher. I'm now working in the library of an art school. "Waka Huia" is my second short.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The film is inspired by the story of Charlie, and elderly Māori whom we hosted in our B&B in Brussels in 2012. My intention with "Waka Huia" was not to work step by step, as usually happens in the animation industry, but to allow myself to discover things little by little in order to keep the initial energy of animatics till the end of the project. The short is voluntarily minimalistic both in picture and movement in order to rely as much as possible on the viewer's imagination.