I'm part of the team who cast WE WERE DANGEROUS, COUSINS, MYSTIC, and RAISED BY REFUGEES and I'm casting a new whānau adventure/comedy sci-fi adventure tv series for Whakaata Māori MĀUI + ELVIS by the team at WHITEBAIT MEDIA (What Now, Brain Busters) filming primarily in Ōtautahi late 2026.

MĀUI + ELVIS is a coming-of-age story about two young teens from different Indigenous cultures, on a self-discovery journey amidst an alien takeover of their favorite person - Nan. Along the way they’ll discover friendship, belonging, and self-reliance, as they form a community of misfits and join forces with unlikely allies to save Nan... and the whole world.

We are searching for two rangatahi to play the leads in the show. This is an awesome opportunity for our kids to tell stories on screen in reo Māori and Pākehā. 

Our social media link here. And our online application here for the tamariki and mātua to apply.

MĀŪI – the cynical brainiac

Tāne Māori. Screen age 12-13. Kōrero te reo Māori + Pākehā

Lead

Māui is a 12ish Māori tāne. He’s super cautious, highly intelligent, and an only child being raised by his Nan in a small town. A bit like ‘Young Sheldon’, Māui possesses the same academic prowess and social awkwardness. He struggles with social norms, cues and friendships, appearing at times to be intellectually superior and unable to see the effect this has on those around him. He dresses preppy, neat and clean, and values order. Māui gets nervous when he's in unpredictable or risky situations. He has a dry sarcastic sense of humor, often layered with intellect - he’s an old soul in a young body who loves to play chess.

Huia – passenger princess to Miss Independent

Kōhine Māori. Screen age 17. Kōrero te reo Māori + Pākehā

Huia (17) is Māui’s smart, high maintenance, big cousin, who’s been sent to live with Nan for the summer. The Huia we meet really just really wants to be noticed, and seen. She's a fluent reo Māori speaker, is highly intuitive, and is much more in touch with nature than she lets on, and she will need to learn to embrace these qualities.

Huia’s from the ‘big city’... of Hamilton. And she has big city girl needs, like nails, lashes, and beauty treatments. But Nan’s not going to pay for any of it, so she sets Huia up with a job at the Fish Pun, handing her an apron the moment she lands in the small town.

Ngā mihi nui,

Amelia