[1] The film was shot in Auckland, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - Te Mīhana Māori, but "recreate[d] 16th century Venice, with costumes and surroundings to fit the original setting".
[1] Waihoroi Shortland stars as Hairoka (Shylock),[4] Ngarimu Daniels as Pohia (Portia), Te Rangihau Gilbert as Patanio (Bassanio), Scotty Morrison as Anatonio (Antonio)[5] and Veeshayne Armstrong as Nerita (Nerissa).
[6][7] According to the New Zealand Film Commission, the film deals with the themes of "religious discrimination, revenge for past wrongs", and "explores the nature of justice and mercy" as well as "the effect of heritage on an individual’s life decisions and the strength, wit and wisdom of women": "The Maori take on Shakespeare's 'pound of flesh' drama is a story of deep seated social and religious prejudice, in which the Jew (Shylock) has a long memory of oppression, but revenge is not so sweet.
"[8] Valerie Wayne, in The Contemporary Pacific, underlined the apparent parallel drawn by the film between the oppression suffered by Shylock because of his Judaism and the sometimes violent subjugation of Māori by the colonial authorities in nineteenth century New Zealand.
[6] The Merchant of Venice is not the only Shakespearian play to have been adapted to Māori themes, though it is the only one to have been released as a feature film.