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Man of Valor

Directed by Tearepa Kahi
New Zealand, Tunisia · English, Māori, Arabic · Action + Adventure, War, Biography + History
Market Screening

Synopsis

At midnight on 19 April 1943, a young Māori Battalion soldier from Lake Rotorua, New Zealand, climbed a sheer desert fortress in Tunisia that Allied commanders had declared impossible to take. His name was Haane Manahi. Three generals and a field marshal signed his Victoria Cross recommendation. An anonymous official struck it out. No reason was ever given. From award-winning director Tearepa Kahi (Muru, TIFF 2022, New Zealand's 2023 Oscar submission), MAN OF VALOR weaves visceral battle drama with living memory into an unforgettable story – moving between Rotorua today, where Haane's descendants still carry his name in haka and waiata (song), and Tunisia, 1943, where a band of cousins storm Axis machine gun posts in darkness. Alex Tarrant (The Rings of Power) embodies Haane with quiet, extraordinary restraint – a man who says almost everything through action – to fight another country's war. A true story of memory, honour, and refusing to let a man disappear.

Programming note from tiff.net. No confirmed TMDB match, so no poster or Letterboxd link is shown.

Showtimes

Sat Sep 12
7:00 PM
TIFF LightboxTIFF Lightbox 6
Buyer
Rush lineNo report yet · ~8 rush seats