A life well told
Nine female Pasifika film-makers joined forces to make Vai, writes James Croot.
Pacific film-makers bring Vai to life
An ambitious Kiwi film debuts at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival this weekend. Vai tells the story of one woman’s life, as shaped by her connection to the many lands of the South Pacific. It is the latest creation by the producers behind 2017’s critically acclaimed portmanteau drama, Waru and it’s told in a unique, bold way – as eight vignettes created by nine female Pasifika filmmakers.
Eight women portray the main character, Vai, at different points in her life.
Speaking ahead of the movie’s Berlin showing, producers Kerry Warkia and Kiel McNaughton say Waru and Vai are part of a proposed trilogy of ‘‘sister films’’ aimed at allowing under-represented voices to have ‘‘full control over their stories and directions’’.
Ofa-ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Amberley Jo Aumua, Becs Arahanga, Dianna Fuemana, Marina Alofagia McCartney, Mı¯ria George, Matasila Freshwater, and Sharon and Nicole Whippy, were chosen from about 65 Pasifika female writers and directors.
Each has an indigenous ancestral connection to one of the seven countries (New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands, and Niue) where the individual stories took place.
McNaughton says they chose their locations, and subsequently the film-makers, after looking at where New Zealand-based Pasifika populations hailed from. ‘‘Obviously there’s a huge Samoan contingent living in New Zealand, so not only did we hire a Samoan director to shoot a sequence in Samoan, but included another vignette from a New Zealand-born Samoan perspective that is set in Auckland.
‘‘We thought that was a very relevant and important perspective to pursue.’’
As with Waru, Warkia and McNaughton also placed a series of ‘‘creative restrictions’’ on their film-makers.
Each segment had to be a maximum of 10 minutes; be focused on female empowerment through culture; feature the same central character – but at an age 10 to 12 years different from the one before and after it in the final order of stories; include water as a visual metaphor; and be shot in one take – where possible.
‘‘We used to call those non-negotiables, but we thought that term was a bit harsh,’’ McNaughton says, before Warkia chimes in with the reasoning behind the one-shot approach and other ‘‘restrictions’’.
‘‘It means no-one can change the edit on them later on – they really do have full control.
‘‘I also think a collaborative, collective voice is something that is really important to us, and elevates what you want to talk about. I know it’s not the only way to make a film, but we’ve found it’s really effective, particularly for indigenous kaupapa.’’
However, McNaughton admits they were ‘‘a bit looser’’ on the one-shot demand this time. ‘‘We wanted to have the flexibility if needed if we ran into any problems with the island shoots and all the travel involved.’’
He paid tribute to the fantastic crew who managed the incredibly tight six-week shooting schedule across the eight islands, while Warkia gave thanks to even higher powers.
‘‘I have to say the weather gods and the island gods were smiling on us, because at any point it could have fallen over and we had very little room for error.
‘‘We travelled with 17 crew and pretty much became a family by the end of it. ‘‘What was really wonderful was being greeted and welcomed by the village or people of the film-maker – that was just incredible, wonderful and lifechanging.’’
When asked what lessons the pair learned from making Waru (which premiered at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival and made almost $400,000 at the Kiwi box-office) that they were able to put into practice on Vai, McNaughton has an answer ready.
‘‘When you’re working with that many people in a creative capacity, you can always improve on communication. It is like having a family.
‘‘You’re going to have your conflicts and your moments of joy, but to keep it all running, the communication was a massive factor and what we learned on Waru was where and how we can communicate information in the best way possible.
‘‘We also learned that we needed a bigger budget,’’ he says.
Warkia agrees, helpfully suggesting that ‘‘a bigger budget really helped with communicating with people here because if we actually needed to be there in person to talk about something, we could just jump on a plane’’.
‘‘That was really important because we were dealing with personal, very real stories that meant a lot to people, and I think that can be liberating, terrifying and joyful all at the same time.’’
Part of Vai’s ‘‘bigger budget’’ was obtaining production finance from the New Zealand Film Commission, clearly helped by the success of Waru.
‘‘The cinematic and emotional impact of Waru confirms the enormous storytelling power of women,’’ NZ Film Commission chief executive officer Annabelle Sheehan said last May when funding for the project was announced.
‘‘We know that an ever-growing wave of women film-makers will expand the potential of cinema, telling new stories which connect us, by our diverse culture, throughout the globe.’’
All nine film-makers plus Warkia have made the trip to Berlin for Vai’s premiere, with seven hopefully making the journey to Texas next month for its North American debut at the more eclectic South By Southwest festival, the gathering that helped launch last year’s Kiwi comedy hit The Breaker Upperers.
While the Vai writers and directors describe the film as ‘‘a way forward that makes it possible to honour those who came before without becoming trapped in the past’’, McNaughton hopes viewers around the globe see it as a window into Pacific Island culture and ‘‘the power and strength of women within these individual cultures’’.
Warkia agrees, saying the film showcases how Polynesian traditions influence things on a ‘‘personal, community and global level’’.
But she also believes it portrays the ‘‘complicated relationships’’ Pasifika women have ‘‘with New Zealand, our own islands and our families’’. ‘‘It’s a celebration of our connectedness,’’ she says.
Vai will make its New Zealand debut at the opening night of next month’s Ma¯ ori Land Film Festival in O¯ taki, before opening in select cinemas nationwide on April 4.