The Whale Rider is a 2002 movie directed by Niki Caro and it is one of the foreign films nominated for an Oscar at the 2003 Academy Awards ceremonies and at the 2004 ceremonies as well. In 2003 Whale Rider was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and then the Academy did something it rarely does and brought Whale Rider out for another nomination is 2004 when it nominated Keisha Castle-Hughes for Best Actress In a Leading Role for her performance in Whale Rider. You can also add to that incredible box office success for Whale Rider in the United States even before the 2004 nomination of Castle-Hughes for Best Actress in a Leading role. Whale Rider not only tells a great story of a young girl’s struggle to claim what she feels is rightfully hers but it also offers some spectacular scenery and visual effects that add a whole new dimension to an already fascinating movie.

The story in Whale Rider is about the Whangara tribe on the coast of New Zealand. They believe that their entire tribe can be traced back through several centuries to one original chief at that chief’s name was Pai. It is believed that Pai was on the verge of dying in the ocean in his canoe when suddenly a whale came along and brought Pai to safety by carrying Pai and his canoe on the whale’s back. Ever since the time of Pai the chief of the tribe has always been the first male child born that the tribe believes is the direct descendant to Pai. In Whale Rider Keisha Castle-Hughes, who is also know for her work in the Star Wars movie Revenge Of The Sith, plays a pre-teen girl named Paikea and she believes that she is the rightful heir to be the next chief of the Whangara tribe. Her grandfather, the current chief, feels that he cannot choose his granddaughter as the next chief because tribal custom demands that he choose a male successor. From there Paikea fights her grandfather to earn the right to take her rightful place in her tribe’s history and be named the next chief of the Whangara. The movie is an emotional story about the gap between generations and the belief that as times change so should even the oldest of customs. As her grandfather fights to protect the nearly 1000 year old custom of always having a male chief, Paikea fights to claim what is rightfully hers and she will not be denied by a custom she considers outdated and wrong.

Filming the movie was an adventure as they only had a few short weeks to finish it and a very important discovery almost finished the movie all together. When she auditioned for the role of Paikea Keisha Castle-Hughes told the movie’s producers that she could swim just fine and that the swimming scenes were no problem. Castle-Hughes believed that any extensive swimming would be done by stunt people and she could tread water with the best of them when needed. But as filming began Castle-Hughes had to finally admit that she did not know how to swim and soon the entire production was in jeopardy. Luckily Castle-Hughes was a fast learner and soon she had no problem filming all of her swimming scenes and the movie went on to become a huge success for not only Keisha Castle-Hughes but the entire cast and crew involved with Whale Rider.