Samantha Magick

By Prerna Priyanka Fijian storyteller and climate activist, Fenton Lutunatabua, is gearing up for the premiere of his debut film ‘Vakaraitaka’ at the Maoriland Film Festival in March. The festival, now in its 11th year, is New Zealand’s premier international Indigenous Film Festival, and provides a platform for diverse voices and perspectives. ‘Vakaraitaka’ is a […]

By Ben Wheeler Take one Swedish pop band – the finest you can find – add a hint of the Italian language, a Greek setting, a universal tale of love lost, and a quest for identity. Bring to the boil with an Irish Australian director and sprinkle liberally with Fijian talent – you can find […]

By Samantha Magick On the Suva seawall at Nasese, a huge heart faces out to sea. The site of the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital, it is a symbol of the passion a family and the community they have built, have brought to caring for Pacific children with congenital heart defects. Established by the […]

Rarotonga-based filmmaker and playwright, Glenda Tuaine’s short film, Taonga: An Artist Activist, will be screened for the first time in Fiji today at the third Pacific Human Rights Film Festival. The 15-minute short film is about Mike Tavioni, a renowned Cook Islands master carver, vaka builder, painter, poet and activist. Tuaine’s first encounter with Mike […]

Shakil Zoro Bhamji, better known as Zoro, was an entrepreneur at an early age, selling fruit  by the roadside in Ba  to pay for his school fees and supplies. “I used to see all the ladies from across the village sell their mangoes on the roadside. So during school holidays and weekends, I used to […]

Surf’s UpThe elite World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour is back in Fiji. The grand event will see the top surfers in the world return to Cloudbreak, a well-known spot for perfect waves near Tavarua Island. It will be the last event to help decide the WSL Final 5, ahead of the one-day WSL Finals […]

In a cheeky campaign fronted by Wallabies legend, Lote Tuqiri, Australians have been invited to become ‘Flying Fijians’ and support Fiji’s efforts at the Rugby World Cup. Australia has missed out on the quarter-finals at the tournament in France, but Fiji’s team is through for the first time in 16 years, despite a narrow defeat […]

Review: Ben Wheeler Around a century ago in Hollywood, a Golden Age of filmmaking began that lasted almost four decades. Francis Ford Coppola, director of some of the greatest films of the “New Hollywood” period that followed, believes we may be on the cusp of a New Golden Age after the huge box office and […]

A new exhibition opened last weekend at Lancaster Press Fiji, in the hills of Malaqereqere, just near Sigatoka, featuring the efforts of local and international artists working in various mediums, including lithography, the medium in which artist and press founder, Peter Lancaster, specialises. Speaking at the opening, Lancaster said the artist and printing studios, residency […]

In a glass room at Suva’s Grand Pacific Hotel, a frangipani tree wrought from glinting metal and glowing glass is growing from the ceiling this weekend. In another corner of this temporary exhibition space, a school of iridescent copper mahimahi swirls around blue glass waves and delicate clear glass fish, while birds constructed of bronze […]

The Pacifique Artisans Collective is Suva’s newest business incubator that “allows an equal playing field for emerging designers and accessory makers,” says Shakira Macdonald. It is located at the Suva Flea Market, a popular space for small businesses since 1995, which has recently undergone a facelift and upgrade. The PAC houses unique clothing lines such […]

The Fiji Fringe Festival this week released its artists guide, with details of the performers who will be appearing at the event, which runs in Suva from 25th February till the 4th of March. Fiji Traveller is proud to be a sponsor of the festival. Look out for our profiles of the performers and activities […]

Fiji visitor arrival numbers for December surpassed pre-COVID levels according to figures released by the Bureau of Statistics this week. A total of 75,580 visitors (102% of 2019) landed in Fiji last month. December also recorded the highest ever number of Australian travellers in a month, with 42,304 coming to Fiji, exceeding September 2022 which […]

By Leila Parina It’s an ordinary afternoon in Suva city, with school students flooding towards the bus stand and window shopping.  Car horns honk as drivers speed through the city or are stuck in traffic. Shop owners prepare to close up while market vendors call out to passers-by in a bid to sell their final […]

By Rowena Singh Deeper Sounds, Deeper Connections is a Pacific-Australian project which shares the unique music of the Pacific with the world. Working with groups of musicians across the region, it captures traditional instruments, melodies, songs and voices, and distils them into sample packs for DJs, producers, film makers, music makers and Australian music schools.  Fiji’s […]

From Queensland Art Gallery comes this interview with Salote Tawale, developed specifically for ‘The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10). ‘No Location’ comprises an almost 15-metre-long bamboo raft referencing a bilibili. QAGOMA writes: “With humour and a lightness of touch, Tawale gently proposes that we consider the potential of this cultural knowledge and […]

By Anne Moorhead Recently I arrived back in Fiji after nearly two years away. One of the first changes I noticed, on the drive from Nadi to Suva, was the proliferation of the African tulip tree. It’s a beautiful tree, with huge scarlet flowers – hence its introduction a few decades ago as a garden […]

Sigatoka River Safari has successfully defended its title as Oceania’s Leading Adventure Tour Operator at the World Travel Awards for the sixth consecutive year. Managing Director Jay Whyte says its a reflection of the team working at Sigatoka River Safari, and of the people of Navosa and the 18 villages they work with throughout the […]

By Kite Pareti A few beers and a pen….and Fiji’s newest floating bar and restaurant came alive. Located in the turquoise waters of the Mamanucas – Seventh Heaven – is a F$4million investment by four New Zealanders: Eddy and Martin Rotteveel, John Cornwell, and Glen Matheson. With a jumping platform, massage rooms, kitchen and bar, […]

Shedding those kilos and avoiding NCDs with the Suva Marathon Club By Sadhana Sen In early 2014, a group of ‘fairly decent’ runners living and working out of Fiji’s capital, Suva decided to pursue the idea of creating a platform to promote marathon running for Pacific islanders, and to use it to encourage healthy living […]

A brilliant Fijian Story from the Lighthouse Fiji team about Fiji’s longest serving bean peanut seller, a Suva bus stand icon Mausam Ali.

Join us for an afternoon & night of International award-winning short films from USA, South Africa, UK, Japan and more. From Fiji, the festival will showcase recognized local films by up-and-coming Fijian filmmakers, together with films from former winners of the local Kula Film Awards. The event also marks the launch of the country’s Media Learning […]

A matriarch of music, the Queen of Vude, supporter of many charities, and a diva who comes home and cooks for her family every night.  Laisa Vulakoro has an in-depth talanoa with Islands Business’ Rowena Singh about her four decades in the industry. “I’ve been in this industry for over 40 years and I’m still […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti The 50th anniversary of the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture was marked in Suva this month with fire-dancjng and Rotuman rhythms, as well as contemporary dances and songs. The theme ‘Na wekaqu, noqu iyau’ which means ‘My relationships are my heritage and wealth,” put a spotlight on kinships and relationships. In […]