Kiwi family tale sells out at Berlinale
18 Feb 2010
A low-budget New Zealand documentary film has sold out all three 1000-seat screenings at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.
This Way of Life, a quintessentially Kiwi story produced and directed by Barbara Sumner Burstyn and Tom Burstyn, is the only New Zealand documentary chosen to compete at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in 2010.
The film documents four years in the life of a Māori family who live in Hawke’s Bay, on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s North Island.
The film was also officially selected for the 2010 Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the 2009 New Zealand and Vancouver International Film Festivals.
Kiwi film with universal meaning
The isolated Ruahine Mountains provides an amazing backdrop to the incredible story of the Karena family as they struggle to carve out a meaningful life on the rugged landscape.
Peter and Colleen Karena moved their family of six children and 50 horses to a small homestead near the Tukituki river in the Hawke’s Bay region, so they could fulfill their desire to live in harmony with nature.
Over the next four years, as Tom and Barbara followed their story with cameras, the Karena family struggled to survive on their limited economic resources. They also encountered heartache and crises in the form of losing a baby, having their horses stolen and their house being burnt down. But they ultimately learn that some things are worth more than money.
What makes their story resonate with international audiences, says Barbara, is the ability to find universal themes even within such a Kiwi story.
"When you strip away all our pretensions and finery, we all want an authentic life, with deep human connections - and the Karena family are such a great example of that."
New Zealand scenery part of film
The diverse New Zealand landscape became part of the fabric of this emotionally rich Kiwi story.
The documentary was mostly filmed in the Ruahine mountain range, between the west coast Manawatu and east coast Hawke’s Bay regions. The Ruahine Forest Park, south-west of Napier, has a mixture of forest, scrub and ranges that offer a breath-taking view of the unspoilt valleys below.
"We also filmed in Waimarama beach in Hawke’s Bay - perhaps one of the most beautiful beaches in the world," Barbara said.
Waimarama beach, a half-hour’s drive from Havelock North and south of Cape Kidnappers, is a beautiful, pristine surf beach that is also suitable for swimming, fishing and walking.
"It was a two-day horse trek to get to the hut [in the Ruahine mountains]. For Tom, this was the most challenging, especially as he could not ride a horse to begin with. He’s a city boy born-and-raised, and he was constantly afraid and acutely aware that if anything happened to Peter [who was guiding him] up there, he could not just hail a cab."
Colleen Karena and their eldest son, Llewellyn, who narrates the film, have also been invited to Berlin for the festival.
Background: Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals.
It has been held annually since its inception in 1951 and screenings are also open to the public. The festival is the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide.
The main two awards are called the Golden and Silver Bears, with up to 400 films shown in each category.
More information:
Two NZ films selected for Berlin festival
Spotlight on NZ film industry
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