Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Disobedience, stealing, spitting, running away, throwing stones, kicking, arson, graffiti: these are all crimes committed by young outsider Ricky Baker, a self-proclaimed gangster. Until now, he’s moved from foster family to foster family, this is his last chance before he lands in a juvenile detention facility. A police officer and a social worker bring him to his new foster parents, Bella and Hec, in the mountains of New Zealand. At the beginning he says nothing, looks around, and gets back into the police car to return to the city. But he has no choice, he has to stay. Bella is very loving and looks after him like her very own child, while Hec silently looks on. Finally the city boy feels at home in the country and really comes into his own. Sadly, Bella dies suddenly, and Ricky and Hec are on their own. Child welfare services wants to put Ricky in a new foster family, but he won’t go: he’s found his family in the bush. He runs away, Hec chases after him, and a hilarious large-scale manhunt ensues. (Festival information)