Land of the Long White Cloud

"So salty and true you could bottle it" - Bill Gosden, NZ Film Festivals

Land of the Long White Cloud (New Zealand, 2009)

Director: Florian Habicht
Photography: Florian Habicht, Niamh Peren, Christopher Pryor
Editor: Peter O'Donoghue
Sound: Ray Beentjes
Music: Marc Chesterman

With: Ossie Perrie, Shane Storey, Wiremu Henare, Heather Hales

www.picturesforanna.com

Exempt, 75 minutes

Having caught the Far North at play in Kaikohe Demolition, local boy turned filmmaker Florian Habicht returned to film them fishing at the ‘Snapper Classic’ – the worlds largest Snapper fishing contest.

Land of the Long White Cloud, a must see piece of Kiwiana, explores the minds and hearts of the fishermen and women as they compete for $50,000 for the biggest catch, and battle it out with a Northland storm.

“The amiable atmosphere of tolerance and unpretentious philosophising is so salty and true and rousing that you could bottle it, call it Kiwiade, and sell it by the crateload to homesick expatriates.”  wrote Bill Gosden, director of the New Zealand International film festival.

‘Asking a bunch of fishermen whether fish have feelings is a bold move and it's just one of the curly questions director Florian Habicht poses. Perhaps the best answer comes from Paihia's Neil Moody: "If you take a bag of fillets around to a mates' place he'll get the beers out. That's gotta be better than worrying about feelings.” As in Kaikohe Demolition, which delved into the lives of demolition derby fans, it's the characters like Moody who make his new film so intriguing, not to mention a hoot.’ wrote Scott Kara from the NZ Herald.

‘Land Of The Long White Cloud is not just about catching fish. It also has a philosophical element and Habicht wanted to get across the contemplative nature of fishing.

He quizzes the people he meets about everything from what they would do with the prize money to whether they believe in an afterlife. The questions might sound random, but the answers are a filmmakers dream.’ Added Scott Kara

And the icing on the cake for Habicht and his team was being in the right spot at the right time when Rama Waipouri caught the biggest Snapper in 25 years of the contest!

Watch the trailer

"Will touch any kiwi to the core" - Helene Wong, NZ Listener

"A minor masterpiece" - Marty Duda, Real Groove

"Must Be Seen" - Dominic Corry, National Radio

"So salty and true you could bottle it" - Bill Gosden, NZ Film Festivals

Screenings: Land of the Long White Cloud screened in a special 3-week season during February 2010