Bella Faulkner jersey

This jersey was worn by Rima Te Wiata for her role as Bella Faulker in Taika Waititi’s hugely successful film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016).  Hunt for the Wilderpeople was based on Barry Crump’s novel Wild Pork and Watercress (1986).

In the film, Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) is a young delinquent who is placed into foster care with the loving Bella and her taciturn husband Hector (Hec) (Sam Neill) who live on a remote farm. When Bella dies, Ricky runs away and gets lost in the bush. He is found by Hec, and eventually after mishaps and finding they’re being pursued by the authorities, they agree to stick together and disappear into the wilds. The film tracks their transformations as individuals and how new family / whānau are formed along the way. With a light and empathetic touch, the film addresses serious themes: youth at risk (delinquency, the welfare system, poverty, mental health and suicide), man-alone tropes and ideas of masculinity, rural versus urban ways of being, race and cultural perspectives, second chances and redemption.

At the beginning of the film, Ricky is given one last chance by the authorities when he is placed into foster care with Bella Faulkner. Bella immediately takes Ricky into her home and heart, wearing a quirky cat jersey which presents her as without guile, accepting, kind and loving. But she’s tough underneath and wise to Ricky’s behaviour and needs.

Costume designer Kristen Seth found Bella’s jersey in a local shopping mall. She remembers thinking, ‘What a find!!’ She needed at least four copies to get through the shoot, so this was the best solution, and ‘Taika wanted an animal of sorts.’ Majestical Pictures made a knitting pattern of this jersey for free download (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wilderpeople-cat-sweater).

Hunt for the Wilderpeople became New Zealand's highest grossing film, and achieved many critical accolades around the world. Empire magazine named it the best film of 2016 (https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-films-2016/).