Once Were Warriors is New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 author Alan Duff

Alan Duff

Alan Duff is a New Zealand novelist and newspaper columnist, most well known as the author of Once Were Warriors.- Biography :...

's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence. It was the basis of a 1994 film

Once Were Warriors (film)

Once Were Warriors is a 1994 film based on New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling 1990 first novel. The film tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and their problems with poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, mostly brought on by family patriarch Jake...

, directed by Lee Tamahori

Lee Tamahori

Lee Tamahori is a New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.-Upbringing and early career:...

 and starring Rena Owen

Rena Owen

Rena Owen is a New Zealand actress in film, theatre and television. She is of Maori, Torres Strait Islander and Pakeha descent. Owen is most well known in the lead role of Beth in the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors directed by Lee Tamahori...

 and Temuera Morrison

Temuera Morrison

Temuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand-born actor. He has become one of the country's most famous stars for his roles as the abusive Jake "the Muss" Heke in 1994's Once Were Warriors and as bounty hunter Jango Fett and the Clone Troopers in the Star Wars series...

, which made its US premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival

Hawaii International Film Festival

The Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...

. The novel was followed by two sequels, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (novel)

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? is a 1996 novel by Alan Duff. It was adapted into a film in 1999. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? is the sequel to Duff's 1990 novel Once Were Warriors, which was made into a film in 1994. The novel was followed in 2002 by the third novel in the Once Were...

(1996) and Jake's Long Shadow

Jake's Long Shadow

Jake's Long Shadow is a novel by Alan Duff, first published in 2002. It is the third book in the Once Were Warriors trilogy, following Jake "The Muss" Heke and his estranged family. Jake had previously driven his wife and children away for his domestic violence ways. The story shows new characters...

(2002).
Beth Heke left her small town and, despite her parents' disapproval, married Jake "the Muss" Heke.