Winner 2004 German Video Award For Young People and Children Nominee Best Actress In a Leading Role Keisha Castle-Hughes 76th Annual Academy Awards, 2004 Winner American Broadcast Critics' Association Best Young Actress Best Family Film 2004 Critics' Choice Awards Winner 2003 South Eastern Film Critics' Association (USA) Best Breakthrough Performance Winner 2003 Online Film Critics’ Society (USA) Best Breakthrough Filmmaker Best Breakthrough Performance Winner 2003 Washington DC Area Film Critics Best Actress Winner 2003 New Zealand Film Awards Best Feature Film Best Director Best Actress Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Juvenile Performer Best Screenplay Best Original Music Best Costume Design Winner 2003 British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards Best Feature Film Winner 2003 Environmental Media Awards Best Feature Film Winner APRA-AGSC 2003 Screen Music Awards Best Original Song Composed for Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-Series Winner 2003 Sao Paulo International Film Festival Jury Prize Winner 2003 Humanitas Award; Sundance Feature Film Category, Niki Caro: Screenwriter Winner 2003 Lake Placid Film Festival Audience Award Winner 2003 Maui International Film Festival Audience Award Best Dramatic Feature Winner 2003 Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film Winner 2003 Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director Winner 2003 San Francisco Film Festival VirginMega Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Winner 2003 Rotterdam Film Festival Canal+ Audience Award Winner 2003 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Audience Award Winner 2002 Toronto International Film Festival AGF People's Choice Award Official Section 2002 San Sebastian International Film Festival WHALE RIDER: Top Ten Lists David Germain Top 10 (Associated Press) Harper Barnes (St. Louis Dispatch) Wallace Baine (Santa Cruz Sentinel) Boo Allen (Denton Record Chronicle) Eric Harrison (Houston Chronicle) Mark Hinson ( Tallahassee Democrat) Carrie Rickey (Philadelphia Inquirer) Ruby Rich (SF Bay Guardian) Mike Prevatt (Las Vegan Mercury News) James Ward Visalia Times) Luisa Ribeiro (LA Alternative press) Carol Cling (Las Vegas Review Journal) Joanna Connors (Cleveland Plain Dealer) James Sanford (Kalamazoo Gazette) Moira MacDonald (Seattle Times) Joe Morgenstern (Wall Street Journal) Katherine Monk (Vancouver Sun) Jay Stone (Vancouver Sun) Ann Hornady ( Washington Post) JP Devine (Maine Newspapers) Steven Truog (NW Indiana Times) Leonard Klady (Movie City News) Joe Williams (St Louis Dispatch) FX Feeny (LA Weekly) Ernest Hardy (LA Weekly) Louis Hobson (Calgary Sun) Terri Sutton (City Pages) Bob Cutright (Wichita Eagle) Lawrence Toppman ( Charlotte Observer) Susan Granger’s Top Ten List (New York Film Critics Online, Rotten Tomatoes) One of Richard Roeper’s Ten Best Films of the Year (Chicago Sun-Times) One of Chris Hewitt’s Top Ten (Pioneer Press) One of Mark Caro’s Top Ten Films of the year (Chicago Tribune) One of Jeffery Wells’ Top 10 Films (Moviepoopshoot.com) One of the Years 10 Best Films National Board of Review Strickler’s 10 best movies (Minneapolis Star Tribune) Chris Hewitt’s Top 10 (Minneapolis Pioneer Press) Elvis Mitchell’s Top 10 (New York Times) Sandi Davis Top 10 (Daily Oklahoman) Glen Lovell Top 10 (San Jose Mercury News) Dennis Harvey Top 10 (San Francisco Bay Guardian)