Tag: Film

The final night of the 5th Pacific Human Rights Film Festival in Suva gave audiences an unforgettable experience through the screening of Ocean with David Attenborough.

By Ben Wheeler There has been palpable excitement on the Fiji filmmaking scene over the past few years, and it reaches a crescendo this weekend as Andrew John Fakaua Ponton’s locally produced BATI opens across the country’s cinemas. That the film exists at all is a testament to patience and perseverance. It was shot in […]

The tide has started to turn as an upcoming filmmaker launches his film, Bati, approaching Pacific issues through a Pasifika lens. Born in Tuvalu, and raised and educated in Suva, Andrew John Fakaua Ponto is about to premiere his movie across the Pacific. Bati is a gripping drama which tells the story of a humble […]

By Ema Ganivatu A collaboration between Fiji and Australia is set to bring a powerful and untold historical story to the screen. Unspoken, a joint production between Salt of the Earth Productions (SoTE) in Sydney and local Fijian filmmakers, tells the story of forbidden love and racial divides in colonial Fiji. Led by Fiji-born, Melbourne-based […]

By Ben Wheeler Writer-director Sanjane Koneshamoorthy and director of photography Rah Sharma talk about their Australian-produced film Arranged Love, screening in Fiji this February. “I was a kid sitting in Nehru Primary, daydreaming about becoming an aircraft engineer, even though I struggled in my studies,” Sharma says. “Life took unexpected turns, but when you start […]

By Ema Ganivatu Fijian writer Adi Tulia Nacola has turned her talents to film with the release of her debut short film, Bubu Belo. This heartfelt project celebrates the beauty of village life and the strength of Fijian youth. Adi Nacola, from Soa in Nakorotubu, Ra, with maternal links to Nasukamai in Ra, wrote the […]

By Ben Wheeler If anyone deserves the moniker of Fijian Traveller right now, it is Tumeli ‘Meli’ Tuqota Jr. In recent years, his work as Fiji’s premier film producer and director has seen him voyage from the Maoriland Film Festival in New Zealand to the Rochefort Film Festival in France. He has also had spells […]

By Ben Wheeler Movie Review: The Fall Guy I do love the Courier font. I think it looks cool. It reminds me of my old typewriter, and it reminds me of movie scripts, which are always written in Courier or one of its variations. It has connotations of control – each character and each space […]

By Ben Wheeler Buyer beware! This is not an addendum to the already bloated Marvel Cinematic Universe! I repeat: Not! A! Marvel! It is instead a sporadically shockingly violent, surreal and contemplative blend of road movie and war movie from indie studio A24, and their most expensive film to date. As a cinematic experience that […]

Nina Nawalowalo returns home By Samantha Magick When director Nina Nawalowalo shared her film, A Boy Called Piano at the Samabula Juvenile Centre late last year, she was struck by the scenes that resonated with its young audience. The movie centres on the journey of Fa’amoana John Luafutu and his son Matthias. Fa’amoana moved to […]

By Ben Wheeler Recently the debate around how to release new movies – in theatres or home streaming – has raged. Doug Liman all but walked on his awesome remake of 80s classic Roadhouse when Amazon announced it would not receive a theatrical release some weeks back. He threatened to boycott the premiere, but then […]

By Ben Wheeler For many, the name Martin Scorsese is synonymous with American cinema. His films Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas are considered by many to be among the greatest Hollywood has ever produced. Others like After Hours and The King of Comedy have a distinctly cult following and have inspired art as varied […]

The third Pacific Human Rights Film Festival starts tomorrow at the University of the South Pacific’s Japan ICT Performance Theatre in Suva with an important film about rugby in the Pacific.  The opening film is Oceans Apart, which will be screening in Fiji for the first time. Festival Director, Ben Wheeler, says this year’s festival […]

Last weekend saw the release of two of the biggest films of 2023: Oppenheimer and Barbie, known collectively as “Barbenheimer”.  As hundreds of thousands of cinemagoers around the world got together to watch both blockbusting releases, we sent our new film reviewer Ben Wheeler out to see what all the fuss was about… Oppenheimer (dir. […]

Local filmmakers finally getting screentime By Ben Wheeler “Every culture has the right and responsibility to present its own culture to its own people,” writes New Zealand filmmaker Barry Barclay.  “That responsibility is so fundamental it cannot be left in the hands of outsiders, nor usurped by them.” These words seem more relevant in Fiji […]