Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 4, 2025: WE WERE DANGEROUS

March 30, 2025April 3, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, erana james, jennifer merin, Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Manaia Hall, Nathalie Morris, nell minow, Rima Te Wiata, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, We Were Dangerous

Forced against their will to “Christianize, civilize, and assimilate” in a strict New Zealand reform school in the 1950s, three teenage girls refuse to accept a fate that’s been pre-determined for them in director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s rousing feature debut We Were Dangerous. The girls’ stirring story — and the movie’s strong themes of friendship, hope, and self-determination — ensure that the 2024 SXSW Special Jury Award winner resonates powerfully.

Reviews

WE WERE DANGEROUS – Review by Loren King

March 24, 2025March 29, 2025 Loren King Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, maori, new zealand, Rima Te Wiata, We Were Dangerous

From its opening frame, Māori filmmaker Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s alternately enraging and celebratory “We Were Dangerous” announces an assured screen debut. Set in 1950s New Zealand, the film has echoes of Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Magdalene Sisters in its story of abuse and exploration and colonialism but has its own voice and fresh approach. The story is about a Christian School for Incorrigible and Delinquent Girls where an abusive matron (Rima Te Wiata) drills the Bible into the mostly Māori girls sent or abandoned to the facility.

Festivals Reviews

WE WERE DANGEROUS (SXSW2024) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

March 11, 2024March 17, 2024 Valerie Kalfrin erana james, Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, Maddie Dai, Manaia Hall, maori, Nathalie Morris, new zealand, Rima Te Wiata, SXSW2024, We Were Dangerous

We Were Dangerous, the feature directing debut from Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, takes place in a New Zealand reform school for girls in the 1950s, reclaimed from a former leper colony. “If it can contain leprosy, it can probably manage a few girls in heat,” says a bureaucrat assigning a matron to the task. Designed for “incorrigible and delinquent girls,” the school takes in runaways, pregnant teens, and others labeled as sexual deviants, such as Lou, whose doctor father sends her there once he catches her making out with her female math tutor.