The Orator

Sacred Spaces

September 2009 •Samoan

Taro planter Lui's grief for his dead wife has infected his whole life. A chance meeting with a stranger, a widow bound in anger to the grave of her husband now drowning in their cyclone devastated village, inspires Lui to reach out to her. This releases him from his own pain and allows his wife to rest.

Silent Cries

September 2011 •Samoan

Luana Lepou (Salina Vai) is a brilliant 15-year-old. The recent death of her father left her in the care of her mother, Susana (Frances Talataiga) and older sister, Sina (Auau Faleafine). Sina seems to have found the love of her life in her sweet, loving boyfriend, Limu Lualua (Joseph Iosua) who proposes marriage to Sina. After exchanging vows, Limu moves into the Lepou household with Sina, in bliss, until Sina notices a change in her newly wedded husband's behavior. Limu begins to come home late and drunk, fighting and arguing. Sina complains to her mother, who tries to patch things up. Unfortunately for young Luana, Limu turns his drunken attention on her, making suggestive gestures, and threatening her if she tells anyone. She struggles with the shame of her sister's husband's attention. Luana cries out for help, but to her dismay and frustration, the family does not believe her. With no help, Luana is forced to keep this a secret. Inspired by a true story.

The Journey

October 2010 •Samoan

In a long forgotten Samoa, a group of young men are sent into the deepest part of the forest to fulfill their destinies and emerge as Warriors.

Raids

August 2021 •English

Based on the treatment of Pacific Island families during the New Zealand Dawn Raids of the 1970’s, this short is an intimate look into a police raid, as told through the eyes of a young girl Losa and her father Lupematasila.

Rain

October 1932 •English

Due to a possible cholera epidemic onboard, passengers on a ship are forced to disembark at Pago Pago, a small village on a Pacific island where it incessantly rains. Among the stranded passengers are Sadie Thompson, a prostitute, and Alfred Davidson, a fanatic missionary who will try to redeem her.

Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree

February 1990 •English

Pepe is the son of a successful Samoan businessman, who rejects his father's world and his Christianity. Although he becomes rebellious, anti-social and engages in criminal activity, as well as being expelled from school, he manages to establish himself in business. However, when he gets his girlfriend pregnant, he takes on the responsibilities of a family. Through his close association with half-cast dwarf, Tagata, he enters the supernatural realm of his traditional ways and begins to find some peace and meaning to his life.

Banana with Coconut Milk

October 2012 •Samoan

Two boys in the process of making a Samoan dish.

Atali'i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent)

October 2022 •English

The Samoa Deal

Invalid date •English

Imagine being a young, upwardly mobile executive successfully making your way in the world. You’ve got a great job, some good friends and have been tasked by the boss to close a do-or-die deal. Now, imagine that closing the deal takes you to a country where you don’t speak the language, you don’t understand the culture and, if the deal falls through, it will cost you your career. Well, that’s exactly the situation Henry faces. Henry has never known family or loyalty. Now, he has to convince the Matai of a village that these are exactly the characteristics he and his company embody. Further, his growing attraction for Tua, the Matai’s daughter, is making him question if his career is really what’s most important to him. If he can’t balance all these competing interests, Henry may lose it all: his job, his career and, most importantly, his one true chance at love and acceptance.

Three Wise Cousins

January 2016 •English

Adam is a 22 year old New Zealand born Samoan guy who falls for Mary. On a 'chance' encounter he learns that Mary only wants to go out with a 'real island guy' - not a plastic one. Adam realizes that to get rid of his 'plastic' ways and impress Mary, he'll have to travel to Samoa and have his cousins teach him how to be a real island guy. Three Wise Cousins is a feature length comedy, that will have you laughing from start to end; it's a film unlike any other that will surprise you with it's endless amount of 'wisdom'.

Samoa i Sisipo

January 1972 •English

An overview of the people, lifestyle, and traditions of Samoa, as well tourism and other economic changes on the Samoan islands.

The Tattooist

November 2007 •English

American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer wanders the world, exploring and exploiting ethnic themes in his tattoo designs. At a tattoo expo in Singapore, he gets his first glimpse at the exotic world of traditional Samoan tattoo (tatau), and, in a thoughtless act, unwittingly unleashes a powerful angry spirit. In his devastating journey into Pacific mysticism, Jake must find a way to save his new love, Sina and recover his own soul.

Moana

January 1926 •English

Robert J. Flaherty's South Seas follow-up to Nanook of the North is a Gauguin idyll moved by "pride of beauty... pride of strength."

Take Home Pay

August 2019 •English

Two brothers; Alama and Popo, arrive for the first time in NZ as Seasonal Workers, making plenty of money to take back home to their family in Samoa. But things take a turn for the worst when Popo steals Alamas' money and runs away. Alama is determined not to return home empty handed, but the only relative that answers his call for help is Bob Titilo; an aspiring private investigator in his 40s. Alama begins to doubt his decision when Bob's unconventional methods take them on a wild goose chase. This New Action Comedy is brought to you by the Makers of hit Comedies; Three Wise Cousins and Hibiscus and Ruthless.

Votes for Verona

May 2024 •English

Verona Sagato-Mauga, a first-generation American business owner in Salt Lake County, Utah, campaigns to become the first Samoan to win a state legislative seat in the continental United States.

Across the World with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson

February 1930 •English

As if they were showing their film to a few friends in their home, the Johnsons describe their trip across the world, which begins in the South Pacific islands of Hawaii, Samoa, Australia, the Solomons (where they seek and find cannibals), and New Hebrides. Thence on to Africa via the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, North Africa, and the Nile River to lion country in Tanganyika. (They are briefly joined in Khartum by George Eastman and Dr. Al Kayser.) Taking a safari in the Congo, the Johnsons see animals and pygmies, and travel back to Uganda, British East Africa, and Kenya.

Voice of the Islands

March 2017 •English

A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Walt Disney Animation Studios' MOANA, as aided by the Oceanic Story Trust.

Monica in the South Seas

November 2023 •Finnish

Finnish filmmaker and artist Sami van Ingen is a great-grandson of documentary pioneer Robert Flaherty, and seemingly the sole member of the family with a hands-on interest in continuing the directing legacy. Among the materials he found in the estate of Robert and Frances Flaherty’s daughter Monica were the film reels and video tapes detailing several years of work on realising her lifelong dream project: a sound version of her parents’ 1926 docu-fiction axiom, Moana: A Romance of the Golden Age.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

August 2019 •English

Ever since US Diplomatic Security Service Agent Hobbs and lawless outcast Shaw first faced off, they just have traded smack talk and body blows. But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton's ruthless actions threaten the future of humanity, they join forces to defeat him.

KI - Die letzte Erfindung

November 2021 •German