PUBLICITY FILMS.

Waipawa Mail, Volume L, Issue 2, 19 September 1928, Page 3

PUBLICITY FILMS.

SOME NEW TRIUMPHS. Ever since the Publicity Department embarked seriously on the film industry its operators have produced scenic gems which more than adequately present the charms of New Zealand, and which will bear comparison with similar productions from any other part of the world. To see tiie latest of these, the Minister in Charge of Publicity, the Right Hon. J. O. Coates, invited members of Parliament, prominent citizens, and others to a screening in the Artcraft Theatre, Wellington, 'an invitation which was accepted by a large number.

“The Maori as He Was” provided the subject matter for the first of the films shown. Although by no means complete in its presentation of the life of the Maori, it was more Ilian sufficient to stimulate interest overseas in one of the world’s most picturesque races, the photography and artistry of the film being of a very high order. Another very fine production gave one all the thrills, but from an armchair, of catching a gigantic swordfish, in the Bay of Islands, this being a film which will make fishermen in other parts of the world green with envy when they see it.

Scenic subjects included a very comprehensive film of the Wairakei Valley, all its well-known thermal wonders being' recorded with great skill. Less awesome, but more picturesque, was a film of the Southern Lakes, which concluded with a glimpse of the fighting qualities of the Atlantic salmon. The Dominion’s wheat harvests were graphically depicted in another film, as were also the bygone days when men rushed the Shotover River in quest of golden nuggets. This film in particular shows the skill that the Department’s operators possess in instilling what is usually called “human interest” into their

productions; a little story runs through it and makes the old days live again for the present generation. After an hour’s programme those present left with many expressions of pleasure at what they had seen and of appreciation of the valuable work that the Publicity Department is doing in making known overseas, by means of the film, the varied attractions and beauties of the Dominion.