(PRESS RELEASE) BERLIN, 17-Jan-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — In 2019, NATIVe – A Journey into Indigenous Cinema is screening 16 short and feature-length fiction and documentary films from the Pacific region. Characteristic of the programme is the presence of women on both sides of the camera: the special series’ opening film Vai alone features the collaborative efforts of a group of eight female filmmakers.
“Vai is thinking of us all – of her own daughter, of yours too, and of those to come,” says a supporting character in Vai regarding the film’s eponymous protagonist. In eight episodes set on seven different islands, the directorial collective composed of eight Indigenous female filmmakers depicts various stages of Vai’s life. Intimately followed by the camera, the character Vai makes the smooth transition between temporal, geographical and socio-cultural contexts. Individual experience becomes universal, the everyday unfolds in a single location and yet everywhere at once.
Film programme:
Feature-length Films at NATIVe:
Busong (Palawan Fate)
by Kanakan-Balintagos, Philippines 2011
An imaginative filmic reinterpretation of Indigenous legends in Palawan. “Busong” refers to fate, which no individual can control.
For My Father’s Kingdom
by Vea Mafile’o, Jeremiah Tauamiti, New Zealand 2019
Documentary form
World premiere
The church of Tonga demands donations, especially from those who have left the country. This personal documentary follows the family of Saia Mafile’o who, decades after moving to New Zealand, still dedicates his life and money entirely to his homeland.
Mababangong bangungot (The Perfumed Nightmare)
by Kidlat Tahimik, Germany / Philippines 1977
In Kidlat Tahimik’s 1977 debut, he uses imaginative montage to interweave a heroic journey and picaresque tale, the bid for progress and postcolonial criticism, and existence as a migrant worker in Paris and the way of life in
Balian on the Philippines.
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen
by Hepi Mita, New Zealand 2018
Documentary form
European premiere
Merata Mita’s life bears testimony to how the personal is political. Blending archive, interviews and her children’s and colleagues’ memories, this intimate documentary traces the life, work and legacy of this radical first female Maori filmmaker.
One Thousand Ropes
by Tusi Tamasese, New Zealand 2017
The spirit Seipua is haunting Maea, who lives alone after his aggressive past has estranged him from his family. When his daughter returns, Maea seeks to mend broken relationships. A story about tackling violence, set in Wellington’s rainy grey suburbs.
Out of State
by Ciara Lacy, USA 2017
Documentary form
Doing time in prison might give you access to your traditions and roots, but how can you take that home after your release? This documentary describes two working-class Kanaka Maoli men who make the emotional journey back home to their families in Hawaii.
She Who Must Be Loved
by Erica Glynn, Australia 2018
Documentary form
International premiere
Erica Glynn explores the life and work of her mother Freda, a pioneer of the Indigenous media landscape in Australia. Family and art, history and stories all merge in this intimate portrait of a strong-willed woman.
Tanna
by Martin Butler, Bentley Dean, Australia 2014
Given the conflict between the Yakel and Imedin, Wawa and Dain’s relationship seems impossible from the start. Featuring a cast of amateurs, this award-winning film explores the laws of nature and society that govern life on the island of Tanna.
Vai
by Becs Arahanga, Amberley Jo Aumua, Matasila Freshwater, Dianna Fuemana, Mīria George, ‘Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Marina Alofagia McCartney, Nicole Whippy, New Zealand 2019
World premiere
Coming of age as an Indigenous woman on the South Pacific Islands is a process full of change. Every island may be different but they are connected by a shared history. Everywhere she goes, Vai is someone else, and yet she remains connected to her roots.
Short Films at NATIVe:
Blackbird
by Amie Batalibasi, Australia 2015 – 13’
Solomon Islander siblings Kiko and Rosa struggle to survive whilst labouring on a Queensland sugar plantation. This period drama addresses the history of Australia’s ‘sugar slaves’ and the forced displacement of Pacific Islanders from their homelands.
Liliu
by Jeremiah Tauamiti, New Zealand 2018 – 17’
World premiere
Solo, a Samoan court interpreter, works for the New Zealand colonial government. When a Samoan woman on trial refuses to accept the court’s judgement and challenges New Zealand’s jurisdiction and claim to legitimate rule, Solo remembers his true allegiance.
Memoria
by Kamila Andini, Indonesia 2016 – 35’
Flora senses that her mother is a survivor of sexual abuse. The spectre of the past continues to loom over their lives, putting a strain on their relationship. But when Flora decides to get married, Maria is obliged to open up to her daughter.
Snow in Paradise
by Justine Simei-Barton, Nikki Si’ulepa, New Zealand 2011 – 9’
The heavenly peace and relaxed island life on Aitutaki (Cook Islands) comes to an abrupt end when French nuclear tests shake the South Pacific.
Stones
by Ty Sanga, USA 2009 – 20’
Nihipali and Naʻiwi are the only Mū spirits left in their Hawaiian forest. When Nihipali encounters a human child, the veil between the spirit and human worlds is lifted.
Toa’ipuapuagā Strength in Suffering
by Vea Mafile’o, New Zealand 2018 – 10’
International premiere
Toa, a young Samoan woman, displays cuts on her body and begins to bleed prior to having a near-death experience on Easter Sunday. For many Christians in Samoa, her experience has been perceived as an expression of God’s dismay.
Va Tapuia (Sacred Spaces)
by Tusi Tamasese, New Zealand 2009 – 15’
Taro planter Lui labours every day to buy decorative lights for his wife’s grave and so commemorate her life and her sense of beauty. When he meets Malia, who recently lost her husband, Lui reaches out to her so they can share their sense of loss.
Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen and She Who Must Be Loved portray two exceptional Indigenous women with a common goal: to indigenise the media. Merata Mita was an iconic female Maori filmmaker and a radical political activist. Her son, Hepi Mita, researches the life and work of his late mother for answers to unresolved questions. And in Erica Glynn’s She Who Must Be Loved, Freda Glynn makes her feelings clear to her daughter right from the start: “I just normally do my thing. You can’t follow me around all day.” It is immediately unmistakable that Freda is not only the woman who in the early 1980s founded CAAMA, Australia’s influential Aboriginal media organisation, but that she is also a wonderfully headstrong matriarch.
“The range of stories and the different visual languages that the Berlinale presents every year, especially within the NATIVe programme, are indispensable for the global film community. We want to see Indigenous filmmakers’ own stories, films made by them and not about them,” comments Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.
NATIVe Co-Curators Maryanne Redpath and Anna Kalbhenn confirm that strong-willed women form the common thread that runs through the special series’ programme: “The films also reflect upon a distinct sense of disorientation, which is frequently played out in front of deceptively paradisiacal island backdrops. This is often due to more recent, less discussed colonialist practices, work-related migration and adaptations in living conditions made necessary by environmental changes. The films’ male protagonists in particular are frequently severely conflicted.”
For instance, in For My Father’s Kingdom (directed by Vea Mafile’o and Jeremiah Tauamiti): Family head Saia left Tonga as a hero long ago. After decades spent in the New Zealand diaspora, he continues to donate all of his money to the church back home, putting himself and his family into debt in the process. Out of State also takes up the question of what we call home. In her documentary film, director Ciara Lacy follows Hawaiian criminal offenders who first develop a closer relationship to their culture while locked up in an Arizona prison.
NATIVe Advisor Kanakan-Balintagos, otherwise known as Auraeus Solito, traces his Indigenous roots in Busong (Palawan Fate), utilising an intense aesthetic. In the film’s non-chronological narrative, he blurs the boundaries between legend and reality, jumping adeptly between past, present and future.
With several additional talk formats and special events, NATIVe 2019 will also be continuing its successful collaboration with the Embassy of Canada to Germany and the Climate Initiative Regional Climate Change (REKLIM) at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. The NATIVe booth at the European Film Market (EFM) remains an important market presence for Indigenous cinema and Indigenous filmmakers from around the world.
SOURCE: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin
MEDIA CONTACT
Head of Press and Publicity
Frauke Greiner
Assistant
Anja Rüggenmann
phone +49 30 25920-737
fax +49 30 25920-799
press@berlinale.de
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd Inicia Investigación de Demanda Colectiva Contra Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego de Grupo ELEKTRA por Manipulación de Acciones y Fraude en Valores
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd Initiating Class Action Lawsuit Inquiry Against Ricardo Benjamín Salinas Pliego of Grupo ELEKTRA for Stock Manipulation & Securities Fraud
- Digi Communications N.V. announced that its Spanish subsidiary, Digi Spain Telecom S.L.U., has completed the first stage of selling a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in 12 Spanish provinces
- Natural Cotton Color lancia la collezione "Calunga" a Milano
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd: Salinas Pliego Incumple Préstamo de $110 Millones USD y Viola Regulaciones Mexicanas
- Astor Asset Management 3 Ltd: Salinas Pliego Verstößt gegen Darlehensvertrag über 110 Mio. USD und Mexikanische Wertpapiergesetze
- ChargeEuropa zamyka rundę finansowania, której przewodził fundusz Shift4Good tym samym dokonując historycznej francuskiej inwestycji w polski sektor elektromobilności
- Strengthening EU Protections: Robert Szustkowski calls for safeguarding EU citizens’ rights to dignity
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of H1 2024 Financial Results
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that conditional stock options were granted to a director of the Company’s Romanian Subsidiary
- Digi Communications N.V. announces Investors Call for the presentation of the H1 2024 Financial Results
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a share purchase agreement by its subsidiary in Portugal
- Digi Communications N.V. Announces Rating Assigned by Fitch Ratings to Digi Communications N.V.
- Digi Communications N.V. announces significant agreements concluded by the Company’s subsidiaries in Spain
- SGW Global Appoints Telcomdis as the Official European Distributor for Motorola Nursery and Motorola Sound Products
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the instruction regarding the payment of share dividend for the 2023 financial year
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the exercise of conditional share options by the executive directors of the Company, for the year 2023, as approved by the Company’s Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meetings from 18th May 2021 and 28th December 2022
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the granting of conditional stock options to Executive Directors of the Company based on the general shareholders’ meeting approval from 25 June 2024
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the OGMS resolutions and the availability of the approved 2023 Annual Report
- Czech Composer Tatiana Mikova Presents Her String Quartet ‘In Modo Lidico’ at Carnegie Hall
- SWIFTT: A Copernicus-based forest management tool to map, mitigate, and prevent the main threats to EU forests
- WickedBet Unveils Exciting Euro 2024 Promotion with Boosted Odds
- Museum of Unrest: a new space for activism, art and design
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a Senior Facility Agreement by companies within Digi Group
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the agreements concluded by Digi Romania (formerly named RCS & RDS S.A.), the Romanian subsidiary of the Company
- Green Light for Henri Hotel, Restaurants and Shops in the “Alter Fischereihafen” (Old Fishing Port) in Cuxhaven, opening Summer 2026
- Digi Communications N.V. reports consolidated revenues and other income of EUR 447 million, adjusted EBITDA (excluding IFRS 16) of EUR 140 million for Q1 2024
- Digi Communications announces the conclusion of Facilities Agreements by companies from Digi Group
- Digi Communications N.V. Announces the convocation of the Company’s general shareholders meeting for 25 June 2024 for the approval of, among others, the 2023 Annual Report
- Digi Communications NV announces Investors Call for the presentation of the Q1 2024 Financial Results
- Digi Communications intends to propose to shareholders the distribution of dividends for the fiscal year 2023 at the upcoming General Meeting of Shareholders, which shall take place in June 2024
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the Romanian version of the 2023 Annual Report
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the 2023 Annual Report
- International Airlines Group adopts Airline Economics by Skailark ↗️
- BevZero Spain Enhances Sustainability Efforts with Installation of Solar Panels at Production Facility
- Digi Communications N.V. announces share transaction made by an Executive Director of the Company with class B shares
- BevZero South Africa Achieves FSSC 22000 Food Safety Certification
- Digi Communications N.V.: Digi Spain Enters Agreement to Sell FTTH Network to International Investors for Up to EUR 750 Million
- Patients as Partners® Europe Announces the Launch of 8th Annual Meeting with 2024 Keynotes and Topics
- driveMybox continues its international expansion: Hungary as a new strategic location
- Monesave introduces Socialised budgeting: Meet the app quietly revolutionising how users budget
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of the 2023 Preliminary Financial Results
- Digi Communications NV announces Investors Call for the presentation of the 2023 Preliminary Financial Results
- Lensa, един от най-ценените търговци на оптика в Румъния, пристига в България. Първият шоурум е открит в София
- Criando o futuro: desenvolvimento da AENO no mercado de consumo em Portugal
- Digi Communications N.V. Announces the release of the Financial Calendar for 2024
- Customer Data Platform Industry Attracts New Participants: CDP Institute Report
- eCarsTrade annonce Dirk Van Roost au poste de Directeur Administratif et Financier: une décision stratégique pour la croissance à venir
- BevZero Announces Strategic Partnership with TOMSA Desil to Distribute equipment for sustainability in the wine industry, as well as the development of Next-Gen Dealcoholization technology
- Digi Communications N.V. announces share transaction made by a Non-Executive Director of the Company with class B shares
- Digi Spain Telecom, the subsidiary of Digi Communications NV in Spain, has concluded a spectrum transfer agreement for the purchase of spectrum licenses
- Эксперт по торговле акциями Сергей Левин запускает онлайн-мастер-класс по торговле сырьевыми товарами и хеджированию
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion by Company’s Portuguese subsidiary of a framework agreement for spectrum usage rights
- North Texas Couple Completes Dream Purchase of Ouray’s Iconic Beaumont Hotel
- Предприниматель и филантроп Михаил Пелег подчеркнул важность саммита ООН по Целям устойчивого развития 2023 года в Нью-Йорке
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of the Q3 2023 Financial Results
- IQ Biozoom Innovates Non-Invasive Self-Testing, Empowering People to Self-Monitor with Laboratory Precision at Home
- BevZero Introduces Energy Saving Tank Insulation System to Europe under name “BevClad”
- Motorvision Group reduces localization costs using AI dubbing thanks to partnering with Dubformer
- Digi Communications NV Announces Investors Call for the Q3 2023 Financial Results
- Jifiti Granted Electronic Money Institution (EMI) License in Europe
- Предприниматель Михаил Пелег выступил в защиту образования и грамотности на мероприятии ЮНЕСКО, посвящённом Международному дню грамотности
- VRG Components Welcomes New Austrian Independent Agent
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that Digi Spain Telecom S.L.U., its subsidiary in Spain, and abrdn plc have completed the first investment within the transaction having as subject matter the financing of the roll out of a Fibre-to-the-Home (“FTTH”) network in Andalusia, Spain
- Продюсер Михаил Пелег, как сообщается, работает над новым сериалом с участием крупной голливудской актрисы
- Double digit growth in global hospitality industry for Q4 2023
- ITC Deploys Traffic Management Solution in Peachtree Corners, Launches into United States Market
- Cyviz onthult nieuwe TEMPEST dynamische controlekamer in Benelux, Nederland
- EU-Funded CommuniCity Launches its Second Open Call
- Astrologia pode dar pistas sobre a separação de Sophie Turner e Joe Jonas
- La astrología puede señalar las razones de la separación de Sophie Turner y Joe Jonas
- Empowering Europe against infectious diseases: innovative framework to tackle climate-driven health risks
- Montachem International Enters Compostable Materials Market with Seaweed Resins Company Loliware
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that its Belgian affiliated companies are moving ahead with their operations
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the exercise of conditional share options by an executive director of the Company, for the year 2022, as approved by the Company’s Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting from 18 May 2021
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the instruction regarding the payment of share dividend for the 2022 financial year
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the 2022 Annual Report
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the general shareholders’ meeting resolutions from 18 August 2023 approving amongst others, the 2022 Annual Accounts
- Русские эмигранты усиливают призывы «Я хочу, чтобы вы жили» через искусство
- BevZero Introduces State-of-the-Art Mobile Flash Pasteurization Unit to Enhance Non-Alcoholic Beverage Stability at South Africa Facility
- Russian Emigrés Amplify Pleas of “I Want You to Live” through Art
- Digi Communications NV announces the release of H1 2023 Financial Results
- Digi Communications NV Announces Investors Call for the H1 2023 Financial Results
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the convocation of the Company’s general shareholders meeting for 18 August 2023 for the approval of, among others, the 2022 Annual Report
- “Art Is Our Weapon”: Artists in Exile Deploy Their Talents in Support of Peace, Justice for Ukraine
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the availability of the 2022 Annual Financial Report
- “AmsEindShuttle” nuevo servicio de transporte que conecta el aeropuerto de Eindhoven y Ámsterdam
- Un nuovo servizio navetta “AmsEindShuttle” collega l’aeroporto di Eindhoven ad Amsterdam
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of an amendment agreement to the Facility Agreement dated 26 July 2021, by the Company’s Spanish subsidiary
- Digi Communications N.V. announces an amendment of the Company’s 2023 financial calendar
- iGulu F1: Brewing Evolution Unleashed
- Почему интерактивная «Карта мира» собрала ключевые антивоенные сообщества россиян по всему миру и становится для них важнейшим инструментом
- Hajj Minister meets EU ambassadors to Saudi Arabia
- Online Organizing Platform “Map of Peace” Emerges as Key Tool for Diaspora Activists
- Digi Communications N.V. announces that conditional stock options were granted to executive directors of the Company based on the general shareholders’ meeting approval from 18 May 2021
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the release of the Q1 2023 financial results
- AMBROSIA – A MULTIPLEXED PLASMO-PHOTONIC BIOSENSING PLATFORM FOR RAPID AND INTELLIGENT SEPSIS DIAGNOSIS AT THE POINT-OF-CARE
- Digi Communications NV announces Investors Call for the Q1 2023 Financial Results presentation
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the amendment of the Company’s 2023 financial calendar
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of two Facilities Agreements by the Company’s Romanian subsidiary
- Digi Communications N.V. announces the conclusion of a Senior Facility Agreement by the Company’s Romanian subsidiary
- Patients as Partners Europe Returns to London and Announces Agenda Highlights
- GRETE PROJECT RESULTS PRESENTED TO TEXTILE INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS AT INTERNATIONAL CELLULOSE FIBRES CONFERENCE
- Digi Communications N.V. announces Digi Spain Telecom S.L.U., its subsidiary in Spain, entered into an investment agreement with abrdn to finance the roll out of a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network in Andalusia, Spain
- XSpline SPA / University of Linz (Austria): the first patient has been enrolled in the international multicenter clinical study for the Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy DeliveRy guided by non-Invasive electrical and VEnous anatomy assessment (CRT-DRIVE)
- Franklin Junction Expands Host Kitchen® Network To Europe with Digital Food Hall Pioneer Casper
- Unihertz a dévoilé un nouveau smartphone distinctif, Luna, au MWC 2023 de Barcelone
- Unihertz Brachte ein Neues, Markantes Smartphone, Luna, auf dem MWC 2023 in Barcelona
- Editor's pick archive....