Weddings and funerals doco aims to capture Pacific hearts

Upcoming documentary 400 Weddings and a Funeral is being hailed as compulsory watching before attending a Pacific event.

Kiwi Sāmoan director Jeremiah Tauamiti says the film is angled towards people in New Zealand from different cultures, and those who aren’t immersed in Pacific culture.

“It's a ‘how to’ approach, sort of a friendly show mostly catered to non-Pacific and how to approach Pacific Island weddings and funerals but also … it's for our people as well, because not everyone is on the same journey as far as experiencing different events and especially cultural events like weddings and funerals.

“It's kind of a fun way of how to approach weddings and funerals and hopefully people learn about how focused we are on different values like family and love and supporting one another through these events.”

Tauamiti invites any Pacific couples who are planning to get married soon to reach out to them to be part of the film.

Kiwi Sāmoan actor, writer, director Jeremiah Tauamiti. Photo/CineVic

He added that it will be a great memento for the family to look back on in the future.

Speaking to the The Morning Shack’s Regan Foa’i and Gaby Solomona, Tauamiti said he hoped to capture the nuances of Pacific culture.

“For us it's a little bit more than just an event. There are things that, especially for funerals, that are really important to us and I think there's a lot of maybe non-Pacific [who] don't quite understand how we pull together as a family unit and especially extended family because that looks really different for us.

“Simple things like how a funeral can take place over three or four days, and seeing the support that Pacific Islanders are able to get from one another, whether it be emotional support or financial like it's huge and I love that about our culture.”

Tauamiti is a multifaceted actor, writer and director, and wanted to share these aspects of Pacific and Sāmoan culture.

He said the documentary is an honest portrayal of family unity, including financial sacrifice to put on large events.

“There's always going to be people who talk about the strain on us but people, they're quite honest in that they wouldn't have it any other way.

“You can't abandon your family in times of need and a lot of our people that were interviewed, they have received that love themselves.

“There's no way they're gonna turn their back on either a relative or a friend that's going through that kind of loss.”

The documentary is being produced by Great Southern Television and is due to release next year 2025 on Television New Zealand (TVNZ).