Close Up with Cowboys forward Jason Taumalolo | The Fan
Fox League's Lara Pitt sits down with Cowboys and Tonga forward Jason Taumalolo as they take a trip down memory lane.
This year Jason Taumalolo celebrates 10 years playing top grade Rugby League in the NRL making his debut at 17yrs of age when he was still in high school. Since then he's gone on to win a NRL Grand final with the Cowboys in 2015 and was named the Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year by his fellow players in was then named as the joint winner of the Dally M Medal in addition to being named Lock of the Year for the second consecutive year in 2016. This year he was one of two players to win 2x NRL Nines championships.…more
Kia Ora Aotearoa!
Guest Writer Louisa Tipene Opetaia shares her experience with managed isolation in Auckland, New Zealand after flying to the US to bring her three children home with her.
Her three Māori/Sāmoan kids live in California with their father but after seeing the rates that Covid-19 have been infecting Americans and the Black Lives Matter protests turning violent Louisa felt that she needed to bring them home. With both her sons only having US passports she was initially denied travel ban exemptions so she flew to Los Angeles to bring them back and applied again - she was finally approved on condition they travel with her.
She describes travelling during a pandemic as a surreal experience with once bustling airports now with limited numbers of flights and passengers. All Duty Free stores were closed and the only dining option at the food court at Los Angeles Airport was Panda Express.
FLYING DURING A PANDEMIC
As always the Air New Zealand staff were gracious and welcoming. They were masked and gloved every time they interacted with us.…more
Parris Goebel Teaches Us Pride-Inspired Dance Choreo
Celebrating the end of Pride month in the US with dance lessons from Samoan choreographer PARRI$ Goebel!
Get up, get ready, get comfortable, throw on a heel if you want and get ready to be fab!
BRUTAL LIVES - MO'UI FAINGATA'A with Director Vela Manusaute
We talk to Director Vela Manusaute about "Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a" a new Tongan language drama series coming to the CoconetTV in August.
What is Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a about?
Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a is a new pacific (Tongan) bilingual drama set in South Auckland about a fallen boxing champion who returns home after twenty years when his father dies. He must face his three children that he left behind, especially his daughter, Lupe. At the same time, an ancient Tongan spirit warrior seeks revenge for the sins of the Valu family actions over five hundred years ago.
How did you come across the story and what made you want to make it?
The story and the idea is drawn from our own experiences and cultures—for me, it's my love of Pacific boxing and Pacific stories. Sandra (Producer) was inspired by stories from her village, Kolonga in Tonga and a desire to see more Tongan stories on screen and in the Tongan language.…more
Auckland teen Jawsh 685 is #1 on the iTunes chart
From RNZ Music
'Local teen producer Jawsh 685 speaks to Music 101's Charlotte Ryan about the success of his song 'Laxed (Siren Beat)' and his collaboration with global superstar Jason Derulo.
Listen to the full interview here
Jawsh 685 is 17-year-old musician and producer Joshua Stylah from Auckland's Manurewa. You've probably heard his island-infused dance track ‘Laxed (Siren Beat)’, even though you might not know it.
The track's been used in over 30 million TikTok creations in just a few weeks. Celebrities such as Lizzo, Jimmy Fallon and Jessica Alba have all posted their own take on the dance challenge that features the track.
And pop superstar Jason Derulo used the beat on his worldwide smash 'Savage Love', which sat at the top of the global iTunes chart over the weekend.
Manurewa High student Jawsh says he only started making music on his computer in February last year, and his chart-topping tune was made in his tiny bedroom.
"I loved it. I loved making it. I made it for people to blast it on sirens and have fun.…more
Putting the microscope on Pacific workers’ scheme media coverage
A study of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme has raised questions of how Pacific workers are portrayed in New Zealand regional media.
Dr Angie Enoka’s PhD in Media Studies examined media coverage of the New Zealand government’s RSE scheme, a policy which allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas for seasonal work.
The RSE scheme began in 2007 with a cap of 5,000 workers from five eligible Pacific nations, and despite fluctuations in local unemployment, has grown every year since. Today, that annual number as almost tripled to a current cap of 14,400 workers from nine Pacific nations.
Dr Enoka studied newspaper coverage of the scheme during its first five years while Pacific RSE workers were living in regional communities.…more
SURPRISE WEDDING - ADEAZE'S NAINZ & BECS
It's a bit of a grand feat to pull off a surprise wedding especially when you're an islander with island families but that's exactly what Adeaze's Nainz & his wife to be, Becs, managed to do before lockdown!
Check out how they were able to pull it off with the help of Tone6 here!
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Director - Shimpal Lelisi
Editor - Tuki Laumea
Camera Operators - Fa'anati Mamea, Adrian Mcbirney & Sapati Apa
Sound Operator - Marcus Lawson
SEE BTS - Down By the River
Go behind the scenes with Jason Momoa shooting season 1 of the AppleTV series SEE
Production of Season 2 was stopped due to the Covid19 pandemic but filming is set to restart at some stage this year.
Run it Straight with Nate Nauer - Episode 4: Dre Skrila
Nate sits down with comedian and digital content creator Dre Skrila.
He shares his life journey from dealing drugs, serving time and then turning his life around - a true redemption story
Health disparities in Samoa drove me to become a doctor
Twenty-eight-year-old Mosana Evagelia grew up in Samoa and recalls her experience volunteering in the hospitals that peaked her interest in a career in medicine.
“I would have been16-years-old at the time and I volunteered in our local hospital during the holidays. I remember realising that most of the doctors working there weren’t even Samoan, they were American or Filipino. I would usually have to translate between the doctors and patients.”
Evagelia says she witnessed a lot of health disparities in children and when her younger sister got sick with rheumatic fever which progressed as rheumatic heart disease she knew a career in medicine would allow her to work and improve health care for Pacific people. Before coming to New Zealand, Evagelia completed a degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Chaminade University of Honolulu. However, given the expense of education in the USA she decided to further her study and pursue her dream in New Zealand.
In 2019, Evagelia was a recipient of the Pasifika Medical Association’s Papali’i Dr Semisi Ma’ia’i University of Otago Scholarship.…more