Word: samoan
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...while New Zealand continues its dark tradition of what actor Sam Neill dubbed the "cinema of unease," perhaps most closely identified with Jane Campion's The Piano, Conrich has detected more recently "a wave within a wave." From the Samoan slapstick of Sione's Wedding to the Polynesian hip-hop of the cult animated TV series bro'Town, a distinctly Pacific flavor is adding warmth and a sense of humor to New Zealand screen culture. "I feel like we're in the middle of a real cultural boom," says No. 2's novice director Toa Fraser, whose father hails from...
...four New Zealand-based performers of mixed Samoan and Fijian ancestry, there was the opportunity to share their stories through the unifying medium of water: Hellen Stowers performs a Fijian meke that was originally danced at the water's edge to farewell men going to war. But Nawalowalo, who is more interested in "how one adds to a picture," pushes traditional imagery into new realms. In a Samoan siva dance, she spotlights the hands so they appear out of the darkness like swimming squid. Later, she dramatizes the arrival of missionaries with a ship's sail, which passes before...
...great that nobody should be treated differently," says writer Oscar Kightley of the Brash prescription. "But (in the past year) I'm also hearing a lot more things, racist stuff, on the street from ordinary people. That talk used to be confined to extremists on talkback radio." Kightley, of Samoan heritage, is one of the creators of bro'Town, a satirical animated sitcom set in Auckland. The show's characters are mainly Pacific Islanders and Maori - who together make up 22% of the population and growing. "As any parent says, you're only as happy as your saddest child," says...
...through her lens, she can see both sides of the beach. "The really neat thing," she says, "is that I've got these different cultures that I totally embrace. I love the freedom that I get with Western values and ideals. And then I really love and appreciate the Samoan side of our culture...
...That Samoan side Urale is ready to explore in her much-anticipated first feature, which she hopes to start shooting soon. Last July, she won a Fulbright residency at the University of Hawaii, where she polished her latest draft of Moana, about an urban Polynesian family's rediscovery of their pre-colonial myths. As a visual storyteller, whose modern-day fables have the weight of traditional Samoan fagogo, or fairytales, Urale has already begun that process, drawing new audiences around the projector's campfire. "I love social issues - that's why I make films," she says. "Because I want...