PUBLICITY RELEASE
The Matariki Sunday Feature – Without Interruptions
Maori Television is bringing back a much loved tradition by launching Sunday feature films without advertisement breaks
this Sunday June 12 at 9.00 PM.
In honour of Matariki, or Maori New Year, Maori Television launches advertisement-free Sunday films with a classic New
Zealand film reversioned into te reo Maori – FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS.
The 1996 Werner Meyer-directed film FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS made a world-first premiere on the channel in te reo Maori
during the channel’s first birthday celebrations in March.
Now, this delicate portrayal of first love at the hands of a German director and New Zealand film crew comes again to
the channel in celebration of Matariki, or the Maori New Year.
FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS was awarded the Best Feature Film award at the 1997 Berlin Children’s Film Festival and the Best
Supporting Actor award for Pete Smith in the role of Huka at the 1996 New Zealand Television and Film Awards.
Set against the rugged backdrop of Great Barrier Island, the film depicts the journey of Sarah (Julia Brendler) – an
aspiring young German flautist – from Berlin to New Zealand to become re-acquainted with her distracted ornithologist
mother, Claudia (Suzanne von Borosody).
Soon after introductions are made to “the other side of the world”, Sarah meets Moko (Taungaroa Emile) – an at-risk
young Maori boy who has been released from prison recently and unwittingly undergoes a dangerous quest with Sarah to
lift a terrible curse that threatens the survival of the community.
The film is essentially about early courtship, the exploration of dysfunctional families and, most importantly, the
coming together of Maori and European cultures.
Don’t miss FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS – advertisement-free, on Maori Television this Sunday June 12 at 9.00 PM.
Ends
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR FLIGHT OF THE ALBATROSS
Year 1996
Censor General Exhibition (G)
Duration 1.5 hour feature film
Language Maori language