Cousins

Created and directed by Indigenous Māori women from New Zealand, Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace Smith, the film features a main cast of New Zealand Indigenous women and depicts local Māori life, land, language, and family. Land isn't just a backdrop but a central character, reflecting the deep connection Māori people have with their whenua (land). Historical and ongoing injustices faced by Māori people are addressed, and the lead women resist them. The film also presents the revitalization of the Māori language in Aotearoa New Zealand. Child Mata deals with racist bullying and abuse, including getting called "blackie"—this behavior is clearly shown to be wrong.

Multiple references to parents dying or being dead. Someone mistakenly believes their uncle burned to death. A parent places their child in an orphanage where they experience bullying and abuse, often racially motivated, sometimes at the hands of other children—e.g., being pushed to the floor and having their head held in a dirty puddle. Another child comes to their aid and punches and pushes the bullies. A child is caned for supposedly misbehaving. A character fires a rifle twice from distance to scare off two people on their land. Someone wakes up in the middle of the night with a panic attack. A mother experiences a stillbirth; baby briefly seen, bloody, before being covered in a towel. A character hears that their cancer has spread; they die at home in a chair and their body is later seen in an open coffin. Two kids act out a scene from The Lone Ranger comics by using their hands to portray guns.

References to sex include a child who pretends to be pregnant by sticking a pillow up her dress. A character climbs into bed with their partner in just their underwear and vest and makes sexual advances, but backs away when they're not reciprocated. Characters flirt and date. A teen makes a joke about giving up "red wine and sex." Someone kisses their partner who's lying under the sheets in bed.

Racist language includes "blackie" and Māori people being called "unsavory." Other language includes "f---ing," "f---ers," "s--t," "bitch," "d--khead," "bloody hell," "bastard," "mongrels," and "buggered off." A child jokes about sex, saying/pretending that "a man stuck his thing in me."

Characters occasionally smoke and drink beer at social gatherings and in a bar; no drunkenness is shown. One character pours alcohol from a hip flask into their cup of coffee. In a later scene, they drink wine and seem to be mildly intoxicated. Reference to someone giving up the "booze."