This Way of Life

The Story of a Family in New Zealand

Against the stunning beauty of New Zealand's rugged Ruahine Mountains, Peter Karena and his wife Colleen raise their six children on the thin edge between freedom and disaster. As Peter hunts, trains wild horses, and struggles to instill in his kids the values of independence, courage and happiness, his escalating struggle with his own father has profound consequences on the entire Karena clan.

THIS WAY OF LIFE captures the Karena's precipitous existence with equal parts glorious abandon and painful suspense. Trying to carve out a different type of life for himself, Peter often seems like a man out of step with this century--he can tame a wild horse, or field dress a deer, but he can't find a home for his family--but ultimately, this complete immersion in another way of life reveals that the price of freedom is something that is well worth paying.

Winner of a Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.