Karearea The Pine Falcon

New Zealand 2008
Nominated for Best Feature and Best New Zealand Film (any length)

Winner: Palmerston North City Library Award for Best Cinematography  New Zealand Film

Winner: Reel Earth Awards Director's Merit Award

Screening times 8pm Saturday 23 May & 6pm Tuesday 26 May (49 mins)

From the moment Karearea begins, one senses this film will be something special. It delivers on that promise, with spectacular footage of wild New Zealand falcons that reveals behaviour not previously known; with a strong storyline that adroitly weaves several threads to maintain not just interest but tension; and with an emotional appeal that puts the anthropomorphic excesses of many “wildlife” documentaries to shame. It’s all the more remarkable because it was filmed by one person, Sandy Crichton, whose energy does justice to the wildness of the birds. But Karearea is more than a film about falcons. It’s a film about relationships—among the film maker, the birds, the loggers trying to accommodate the falcons while pressured to meet production targets, and aging wildlife photographer George Chance, who three decades ago set the standard for still photography of these iconic New Zealand birds. Beautifully photographed—note the excellent attention to lighting, composition and timing during interviews with George Chance—and with a strong, orginal score by Nick Marsh, Karearea is a beautiful, informative and moving film, excellently presented with drama, humour and poignancy. Clearly one of the festival’s top films.