Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree

Based on two short stories from a collection by Samoan writer Albert Wendt,_ Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree _ depicts the life of a young man whose father sends him away from his village and his family to be educated. As he grows up, he becomes increasingly disenchanted with the trappings of the palangi, rejecting religion and getting expelled from school.

His life takes a very different turn after he leads a gang of his friends to rob his father’s store and then burns down a church hall to divert the police from chasing them.

Shot on location in Samoa, with a largely amateur crew, _Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree _is the directorial debut of New Zealand actor Martyn Sanderson.