Filmmakers of the Moana carving out space on big screens

Pacific filmmakers are putting their own stories front and centre at major film festivals across the Tasman, bringing identity, culture and lived experience to audiences on their own terms.

From a Cooks Islands artist weaving a kete (basket/bag) to a Tongan woman questioning where she belongs, the latest wave of Pacific short films is giving audiences stories that are deeply rooted in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.

At the Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) and the Pasifika Film Festival (PFF), the Ngā Whanaunga Aotearoa programme celebrates the connections between Māori and Pasifika.

Among this year’s list is The Kete Informs You, a short documentary directed and photographed by veteran Cook Islands cinematographer Andrew McGeorge.

The film follows Kūki ‘Āirani artist and former Black Grace dancer Ta’i Paitai as he weaves a kete, using the craft to explore creative identity and contemporary culture.

“Any chance that we get to tell indigenous stories, cultural stories from our own background, it elevates those people and elevates our culture,” McGeorge tells Island Time.

Ta’I Paitai. Photo/Andrew McGeorge

“The more stories like this that are told, the more awareness it brings...in today’s environment where it’s fairly monocultural out there.”

McGeorge also shot The Return, directed by Sāmoan filmmaker Marina Alofagia McCartney.

The surreal short follows Lupesina, a Sāmoan-European woman dealing with language barriers and cultural disconnect before ancestral calls lead her back to her identity and her malu, the traditional female thigh tattoo.

Watch Andrew McGeorge's full interview below.

McGeorge says he has worked with McCartney on various projects for about a decade and was proud to see both films selected.

“She's [McCartney] a wonderful person and a great director,” he says. “I'm a fairly humble person and I don't like to trumpet any kind of success, but I was particularly happy to see my little doco on Ta'i make it into the programme and thrilled, of course, for Marina that her short film is there as well.”

Also joining the NZIFF programme is My Humble Friend, Fonotī Pati Umaga, directed by Mark Papali’i.

The documentary tells the story of Umaga, a musician, activist and Holidaymakers star whose life changed after a serious accident and who went on to become a strong advocate for people with disabilities.

Across the Tasman, Australia’s PFF celebrates its 10th anniversary with screenings in Melbourne in September, a flagship showcase at the Sydney Opera House at the end of October, and screenings at ACE Parramatta in November.

The festival is also in Funafuti, Tuvalu, until 21 August with acting workshops, youth events and film screenings supported by the Australian government.

Included in PFF’s lineup are Algorithm of Shame: In the Village Everybody Knows, which looks at the impact of online harm in Fiji, and Solomon Islands climate documentary, Digital Traditions: Kastom Keeper. Both are Moana Reo Fund projects.

Then there is Puletaha, a self-funded short film with an all-Tongan cast and crew directed by ‘Unaloto Fūnaki.

The film centres on Charlotte, a half-Tongan, half-Palagi woman whose mother-in-law says she is “not Tongan enough”. Her search for the perfect traditional puletaha dress becomes a journey towards embracing her heritage.

Fūnaki, who moved from Aotearoa to Sydney last April, tells PMN Tonga the story grew from personal experience and her desire to support Tongan creatives in Australia.

“I always get called like plastic Tongan because I'm not fluent in Tongan but I can hold a conversation in Tongan and I always had that insecurity,” Fūnaki says.

Watch 'Unaloto Fūnaki's full interview below.

“When I started talking to other half-caste, half-Palagi, half-Tongan emerging artists here in Sydney that's where the idea popped up.

“Then I was like, you know what, let's tell this story because this story needs to be told. I'm sure there's others out there who feel the same as well.”

Together, the films show Pacific storytellers are not waiting for others to share their narratives. They are making space for their own voices, identities and cultures on screen.