Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree

First time director Sanderson scrums into the hefty themes with gusto ... the film has a passion and vigour that live in the mind long after you've seen it.

– Rachel Lang in Onfilm, 1990

[Director Martyn] Sanderson understands visual and verbal irony ... Flying Fox is an auspicious foray into the realm of features.

– Mike Nicolaidi in Variety, 1989

At that moment I have to look away from the death and suffering I see and the woman who gave me birth and life.

– Pepe (Faifua Amiga) after his mother visits him in jail

... an affecting, perceptive coming-of-age tale.

– Kevin Thomas in The Los Angeles Times, 1990

At the heart of it is a terrific performance from Faifua Amiga. His Pepe is a soul in torment, at war with himself and with the alienating cultural ideals of the colonising Palagi.

– Costa Botes, reviewing Flying Fox in a 1990 issue of Onfilm