Youth voices of the Pacific in Copenhagen December 19, 2009
What an inglorious day for Australia – thanks to our shameful bullying of our Pacific Island neighbours, Australia has been awarded the (un)prestigious ‘Fossil of the Day’ Award at the Copenhagen conference.
At a time when Australia should be leading, we’ve been recognised as the worst country in the world for actively seeking a bad outcome. What’s more, we’ve been singled out for trying to bully vulnerable nations into agreeing to targets that would see them literally wiped off the map.
It’s time we stood up to bullies like this. Kevin Rudd has been phoning Pacific leaders to get them to sign away their very survival. Let’s stand up for our friends and call Kevin Rudd with a message that we support the Pacific nations’ call for a treaty that keeps them on the map:
http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/StandUpToRudd
It’s pretty simple: Pacific nations are calling for a treaty that limits global warming to 1.5 degrees, the maximum they can survive. It’s what all the scientists are calling for too. Australia is outrageously trying to strong-arm them into a treaty for a 2 degree rise – which would see them sunk out of existence.
Is this the Australia we want to be? The bad guy? Place a phonecall to Kevin Rudd, like he’s been doing to our Pacific friends, and tell him it’s not just our island neighbours who stand behind the science – we all want a treaty that delivers a safe climate:
http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/StandUpToRudd
If you’d listened to Kevin Rudd’s speech this morning, you’d have thought he actually cares about climate change. He’s saying one thing in public, and then working furiously to undermine efforts for a good treaty behind the scenes. Phone him today before his negotiations wipe Pacific nations off the map.
The Anuta Tribe December 18, 2009
Watching this film made me think about the similiarities the Anutan’s had to other Pacific Islands. It made me think of my own ancestory from Tonga, and how I remember kissing my grandmother in that traditional Polynesian way, with a long breath of air inhaled as our faces touched. This kiss seems to have been replaced with a more western style of cheek kissing or simply cheek to cheek touching. What also touched me was the emotional farwell. In my own experience of visiting Tonga and my relatives there, farewells are an extremely emotional affair. The farewell ceremony in this film by Zachary Stowasser really instilled a sense of understanding as to where that emotion comes from. It comes from tradition. It’s a cultural practice instilled deep within us as Pacific Islander’s – and although not practiced in the same manner today as the Anutan’s, I believe that we once did the same thing too. I feel a deep sadness every time I think about how these small traditional practices, and the knowledge of those practices, are lost with the influence of western society on Pacific nations.
Click on the Anuta Tribe link below to watch film.
The Anuta Tribe from Zachary Stowasser on Vimeo.
Anuta Island Facts
Anuta is a small high island in the southeastern part of the Solomon Islands province of Temotu, “the smallest permanently inhabited isolated Polynesian island.
The island lies about 311 miles (501 km) to the east-southeast of Nendo, at 11°36′39″S 169°51′1″ECoordinates: 11°36′39″S 169°51′1″E. It is a small volcanic island with a fringing coral reef. The highest point on the island is 213 feet (65 m) above sea level. The island is quite small; it has a diameter of only about 820 yards (750 m).
The island’s population is about 300.
It lies 450 km east of Santa Cruz Island. The nearest island is Tikopia, 130 km away.
The island is only 400 m wide, and a has a summit elevation of 65m at Te Maunga Hill in the noth of the island. Anuta is roughly circular in shape with a fringing reef. The beaches are composed of white sand. In the south of the island there is a flat coastal plain
Anuta is the remains of an ancient volcano. One km to the SE lies Fatu’omango Rock and 500 m to the NE is Te Fatu’oveu Rock. Northwest of the island is a reef rising to within 23 m of the surface. This area provides good fishing for the Anutans. About 3 km from the island, the shallow reef plunges into deep water.
Lapita people settled on Anuta about 3000 years ago. The current population descended from Tongans who arrived in 1580. The island is ruled by two chiefs. The chief’s status is marked by tatoos.
Anuta Island is periodically hit by cyclones. In the north of the island are breadfruit storage pits which enable food supply to survive cyclones. The population of Anuta has remained constant at about 200 for one hundred years. There are three villages on the island – Pare Ariki, Rotoapi, and Vatiana.
Rising Waters in Kiribati December 10, 2009
100,000 people still live on the 32 atolls that make up the south Pacific island nation of Kiribati,but global warming is causing sea levels to rise. The archipelago,which lies halfway between Australia and Hawaii,lies just two meters above sea level and is considered especially endangered.The first two atolls have already been submerged. Kiribati’s president is faced with a dilemma: does he have to evacuate all the country’s residents?
Chief Sielu – A short film by Brett Wagner
Filmed in the jungles, waters, and urban nightscapes of Oahu, Hawaii, CHIEF is a short film that defies categorization — though if you had to try, you might call it a Polynesian tragicomic film-noir. CHIEF was written and directed by Brett Wagner, whose previous feature film, FIVE YEARS, played 30 festivals around the world and is currently in distribution. Producer Dana Hankins has a long list of Hollywood and independent film credits, including PICTURE BRIDE (Sundance ’95). The cinematographer is Paul Atkins, who has spent twenty years shooting films in the natural world for National Geographic, and whose second-unit cinematography on MASTER AND COMMANDER helped earn that film an Academy Award. The editor, Jay K. Evans, has been the top commercial editor in Hawaii for twenty years. CHIEF features the performances of two first-time actors: Chief Sielu Avea, a genuine high-ranking Samoan Chief, and Ka’alaka’i Faurot, a startlingly talented eight-year-old actress.
Cannibal Tours – Preview December 3, 2009
Cannibal Tours by Dennis O’Rourke (1988)
Watch Cannibal tours (Dennis O’rourke, 1988).avi in Drama | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
An Island Calling December 1, 2009
An Island Calling is a truly “post-colonial” tale that revolves around a brutal double murder of a gay male couple, one of who was a human rights worker, in Fiji in mid-2001. Through exploring the incident’s context, this film reveals deep historical, social and political currents that circulate throughout the Pacific. However, the documentary is, as much, an intimate story of two very different families.
Directed by Annie Goldson, an Occasional Production.
If you are living in NZ you can watch this film at the Cinema showcase (March 2008 – May 2008), click here for more information.
http://www.worldcinemashowcase.co.nz
To get a copy of the film, or to find out when it will be screening in your country get in touch with Occasional Productions:
Ta’ahine Tonga November 16, 2009
Tahine (Ta’ahine) Tonga by Kalo (Fainu) Foleti 2009
Tahine Tonga is a short ‘experimental film’ by Kalo Foleti. The film was shot using a 16mm bolex film camera mixed with DV and stills. The film is the story of a young Tongan girl’s journey back in time, revealing her inner self and a sense of longing she has for her homeland. I hope you enjoy.
Don't Pacify Me November 12, 2009
Don’t Pacify Me
As I continue my search for artists is the realm of the Pacific, I came across an exhibition that was held earlier in the year in New Zealand called, “Don’t Pacific Me”.
The exhibition brings together an impressive roll call of eighteen senior Pacific students from five Auckland art schools. The artists’ Pacific identity is explored through painting, photography, moving image, sculpture, design and installation. The artists include Cerisse Palalagi, Claudia Jowitt, David Sun, Jeremy Leatinu’u, Kalisolaite Uhila, Mele Mafile’o Uhamaka, Nooroa Tapuni, Pelenato Liufau, Paula Schaafhausen, Petelo Esekielu, Penitoa Finau, Samantha Atasani, Ahilapalapa Rands, Amanda Warwick, Ane Tonga, Siliga Setoga, Vaimoana Eves, Victoria Patea. The curator is Charmaine Ilaiu and the event is presented by the Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust.
It was exciting to stumble upon a collaborative of artists exploring Pacific Identity through various art forms and visual media. However, as is with the majority of practising and emerging artists who’s work encompasses Pacific Islander themes, most of these works come from New Zealand. That’s not a bad thing, in fact, New Zealand is a leader in it’s involvment in, and support of, Pacific Islander art practices. Hopefully through the promotion of Pacific Islander themes here on Pacific Docs we will start to see more artists emerge in Australia and directly out of the islands. Come on people, I know your out there, make yourself known and help promote and represent the creative talent within Pacific Islander communities.
Go to our contribute page now.
There once was an Island – Te Henua e Noho November 10, 2009
Te Henua e Noho Film Trailer from On The Level Productions on Vimeo.
Excerpt from On The Level Productions:
What if your community had to decide whether to leave their homeland forever? This is the reality for the culturally unique Polynesian community of Takuu, a tiny low-lying atoll in the South Western Pacific. As a terrifying tidal flood rips through their already eroded home, the Takuu community experiences the devastating effects of climate change first hand. In this verite-style film, three intrepid characters Telo, Endar and Satty, allow us into their lives and their culture and show us first hand the human impact of an environmental crisis. Two scientists, oceanographer John Hunter and geomorphologist Scott Smithers, investigate the situation with our characters, outlining what they think is going to happen as the atoll continues to disintegrate and what can be done about it. Intimate observational scenes allow Telo, Endar and Satty to take us on their personal journeys as they consider whether to move to an uncertain future in Bougainville or to stay on Takuu and fight for a different, but equally uncertain, outcome. Government officials in impoverished Bougainville discuss the limited options the islanders have.
Check it out below:
Te Henua e Noho Film Trailer from On The Level Productions on Vimeo.
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