New series puts Pacific voices at the centre of international issues

An internationally recognised Sāmoan filmmaker leads a Pacific series commissioned by news channel Al Jazeera English.

Speaking on Pacific Mornings, BAFTA-nominated Sāmoan filmmaker Tuki Laumea says Fight for the Pacific explores complex global narratives from a uniquely Pacific perspective.

“It’s about the geopolitical situation in the Pacific,” Laumea says.

“God, it sounds like a big word at this time of the morning, but it really looks at how the effects of China and Australia and New Zealand and the US and their kind of meddling in amongst all of our own Pacific nations and how that affects us as Pacific people - and really focused just on us.”

The series is filmed across 10 nations with over 30 Pacific contributors, prioritising authentic representation.

Laumea says a point was made to hire Pacific people to make the series, where possible. “Of course, there's always going to be one or two spots where you can't quite do that…everyone in the films, they are all Pacific.”

Given Al Jazeera's global reach, broadcasting to 400 million viewers worldwide, Laumea acknowledges the weight of responsibility in portraying diverse Pacific narratives.

However, he finds strength in allowing local voices to speak authentically.

“It's very easy because people are very good at telling their own stories,” he says.

Al Jazeera Media Network is a private media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded partly by the Qatar government. Photo/Al Jazeera website

“They're the experts in their stories and at the end of the day, we're just conduits to try and help people to express that and embody the perspective of them.”

Among Laumea's most powerful moments during filming was meeting a New Caledonian translator living in a roadside tent due to recent political upheaval.

The translator’s unwavering belief in the struggle for sovereignty deeply impacted Laumea, highlighting the series' commitment to raw, genuine stories rather than official narratives.

Tuki Laumea is the co-founder of Nine Islands Media who produced the series. Photo/Nine Islands Media

"I'm always going to take whatever any politician is saying with a grain of salt,” Laumea says.

“That's not to say they are not good people or they're not trying to do good things for us, but often there's always some sort of ulterior motive.

“So for me, everything that I've done doesn't matter if it's in Bahrain or Africa or Sāmoa, Tonga, here in Aotearoa, the most interesting things to me are real, just normal people.”

Watch Tuki Laumea's full interview below.

The first episode of the four-part series is already receiving positive feedback, particularly from diaspora communities eager for objective and meaningful representation.

Fight for the Pacific airs weekly on Al Jazeera, and episodes are available online via Nine Islands Media's social channels.