Caz Davis (Elz Carrad) returns to his New Zealand home town to reconcile with his past, his father and his friends. Since leaving the dairy community of Rūrangi ten years earlier, he has come out as transgender and is an activist in the city. But he hasn’t been in touch with his family or friends since leaving, so they don’t recognise him, and his father also needs to forgive Caz for missing his mother’s funeral.
Caz also catches up with his best friend Anahera (Awahina Rose Ashby), who is reconnecting with her Māori heritage, and former boyfriend Jem (Arlo Green), who now finds himself reassessing his sexuality as he learns the truth about Caz.
Adapted from a New Zealand web series, this moving and informative story is the epitome of why we need broader representation in the cinema. This is a film made by trans and gender-diverse people telling their own stories, and that clarity and truth shine through this film. It was important to the film that there were many trans and Māori actors playing a range of parts as well as advisors on set, offering viewpoints that are so often omitted from our screens.
Rūrangi is in UK cinemas from today and also online.