Vai - 2019
DVD UPC/EAN # 9312590158940(NZ/AU); 030306707990(US)
Principal Cast: Mereani Tuimatanisiga(Fiji), 'Ar-Ramadi Longopoa(Tonga), Betsy Luitolo(Solomon Islands), Agnes Pele(NZ born Samoan), Evotia-Rose Araiti(Cook Islands), Fiona Collins(Samoa), Maliaga Erick(Niue), Hinetu Dell(Aotearoa/NZ).
Director of Photography: Drew Sturge; Original Music: Lauren King; Editor: Dione Chard; Costume Designer: Lindah Lepou; Production Designer: Riria Lee; Art Direction: Andy Currie, Producers: Kerry Warkia, Kiel McNaughton; Written and Directed by: Nicole Whippy, Ofa Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Matasila Freshwater, Amberley Jo Aumua, Miria George, Marina Alogagia McCartney, Diana Fuemana, Becs Arahanga.
Vai is a portmanteau (a linguistic blending of words) feature film made by nine female Pacific filmmakers, filmed in seven different Pacific countries. It is about the journey of empowerment through culture over the lifetime of one woman, Vai, played by a different indigenous actress in each of the Pacific countries. Each segment is about 10 minutes and each story represented is about 12 years apart. The movie shows different practices, different ways of dress, different problems, features different languages, deals with different themes of diaspora and sacrifice. Yet, there’s also an undercurrent of resilience, of what it means to hold onto to one’s cultural heritage against the pressures of time and conformity.
Censor Rating: PG - Review rating: B
Official MP4 Trailer
