River of Freedom began streaming on December 13 and within 24 hours was the 4th most watched movie in NZ on iTunes, after Barbie, Denzel Washingtons The Equalizer 3 and Taylor Swift’s Eras.
WATCH on YouTube!
WATCH on AppleTV!
WATCH on Vimeo!
The documentary is “a unique and visceral account of the under-reported and divisive furore that erupted in NZ over its Covid policy,” says Journeyman’s CEO, Mark Stucke who secured worldwide rights. It is now available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Vimeo and YouTube with Amazon to follow.
River of Freedom was distributed independently and reached #10 at the NZ Box Office in its third week, nudging Oppenheimer out. Despite being ignored by mainstream media and major theatres the documentary was the most watched film in the country on 21st September. Audiences travelled from far and wide, with ticket sales compared to Barbie and Oppenheimer, even Lord of the Rings.
New Zealand’s primary media platform, Stuff, finally sent a reviewer to see the film in it’s third week: Graeme Tuckett reported “It took me a week to get a ticket. The film sold out its Wellington screenings for five straight days. The Thursday afternoon session I got into was also a sell-out.“
River of Freedom is an intimate journey into New Zealand’s 2022 Freedom Convoy and Parliament protest - an uprising against Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s severe No Jab, No Job mandatory Covid-19 vaccination regime, one of the harshest worldwide. River of Freedom lays out the reasons behind the uprising - who the people were, why they were there and what happened.
The film is written, produced and directed by Gaylene Barnes (Seven Rivers Walking) and produced by Jared Connon (Pearl) and Julian Arahanga (Songs from the Inside). Robin Monotti Graziadei (The Book of Vision) is executive producer, with cinematography from Co-producer Mark Lapwood.
The production was entirely crowd-funded, with no government or lottery money.
“Of the ten cinemas that screened River of Freedom during week one, we had four screens,” says Matt Bell of Focal Point Cinemas. “After 11 days, we’ve taken $30,700 gross box office. It was our top movie at all four sites for two weeks running, which is pretty good for a documentary.”
But many cinemas still hadn’t come on board. “It’s actually performing, but there are so many parts of the country where people can’t get out and see this movie, because it’s not in their neighbourhood“.
On 21st September, in its third week, River of Freedom reached #1 at the Box Office on only a small number of screens. Larger theatres took notice and started booking the film. Where it wasn’t screening, many locals contacted the cinema and posted requests on social media. In one town locals created a petition for their theatre to show it.
“The people are so nice and they’re thanking me for showing it,” says Paul McPhail from the St James Theatre in Gore, where some audience members have travelled from as far as Queenstown, 167 km away. “If I’d have known this info back then I would have behaved differently.”
In Methven, about an hour out of Christchurch, Cinema Paradiso has been in a bad way financially since Covid. “We were looking at maybe closing the cinema at the end of the ski season,” says owner Richard Sheppard. “We just didn’t have people coming to the movies despite having lots of mainstream and New Zealand movies playing.”
Ticket sales have been amazing,” he says. “It’s probably one of the biggest movies I’ve had here, on par with Barbie and Oppenheimer.
“River of Freedom opened up the doors and got people walking through again,” agrees wife Kristina. “They’ve clapped at the end of every session and come out and said how wonderful it is. We’ve had several members of the public hugging us and thank us for screening it. People from all walks of life have come along and been deeply moved.”
“I’ve heard comments that ‘everyone should see this movie’,” agrees Matt Bell. “At the end, people are not in a rush to get out of the cinema. They let it breathe a bit and the lights come on and they slowly leave as opposed to the mad rush out the door. I’d ask them how they found it, get into conversations. Most people have a story as well.”
And the audience were bringing back friends and family to show the side of the protest that mainstream media did not – the heart. One person has seen it 9 times. In total the film played for 10 weeks, Rialto Cinema in the main city of Auckland screening it for 8 of those.
“I’m really proud of the success of our film in New Zealand and how it touched audiences,” says director and editor Gaylene Barnes. “What an opportunity for people the world over to experience New Zealand at its worst… and at its best.”
For information:
LEAVE COMMENTS & REVIEWS!
1 view
56
15
5 months ago 00:18:00 1
Staying at Japanese Secret Ryokan with 4 Private Onsen in Izu♨️ | Yugashima Tatsuta | ASMR
5 months ago 00:12:55 1
Fishing Video 🐠🐬|| Village boy and girl is fishing in the river using bottles || Hook fishing
5 months ago 00:08:28 1
Wardruna - Lyfjaberg (Healing-mountain) Official music video
5 months ago 00:33:43 1
Roger Voisinet Joins Jerry Miller At I Love CVille
5 months ago 00:00:20 1
EPIPHANY BATHING 2024 #424 WINTER SWIMMING
5 months ago 01:11:52 1
Hillary Klug Full Show - #bluegrass #fiddle #dance
5 months ago 00:02:23 1
Nightcore - Somewhere Only We Know (Lyrics)
5 months ago 00:00:00 1
Serenity under the Stars: Cozy Campfire, Cricket Symphony and Nature Sounds
5 months ago 00:00:00 1
Namibia: Live stream in the Namib Desert
5 months ago 00:03:36 1
How people live in the Russian hinterland. Taiga. Ural. Yuryuzan. Юрюзань. Южный Урал
5 months ago 00:58:41 1
Death Stranding | Low Roar and Cinematic Ambience | 4K
5 months ago 00:05:23 1
David Gilmour - The Piper’s Call (Official Music Video)
5 months ago 00:41:13 1
* A La Cart℮ | FHD | *
5 months ago 00:06:07 1
Duff McKagan - River of Deceit (Mad Season Cover)
5 months ago 02:00:59 1
Two Hours of Vietnamese Reunification Music
5 months ago 00:03:54 1
OTYKEN - STORM (Official Music Video)
5 months ago 00:04:25 1
Lizz Wright - “Speak Your Heart“ (band rehearsal cover)
5 months ago 00:03:02 1
Love Affair - Everlasting Love (Official Video)
5 months ago 00:05:06 1
Russia Is Sending Captured US ABRAMS TANKS To The Exhibition Of The Defeated NATO Military Equipment
5 months ago 00:00:00 1
Heavy Thunderstorm Sounds | Relaxing Rain, Thunder & Lightning Ambience for Sleep | HD Nature Video
5 months ago 00:04:38 1
Rivers Of Nihil - Criminals
5 months ago 00:07:36 1
How Expensive is Budapest? | Hungary Travel Guide 2023
5 months ago 11:52:53 1
Magnificent Wildlife World 4K 🐾Thrilling Stories of Survival in the Animal Film Relax Piano Music
5 months ago 00:07:18 1
David Gilmour - Coming Back To Life (Live At Pompeii)