WE ARE STILL HERE ANTHOLOGY - Pacific Directors: Mario Gaoa & Miki Magasiva
In order to move forward, we must first look back.
'We Are Still Here' is a unique Indigenous film that interweaves eight powerful tales to tell a sweeping story of hope and survival. Through the eyes of eight protagonists, 'We Are Still Here' traverses 1000 years from past, present, and future to explore stories of kinship, loss, grief, and resilience. But ultimately, it shows the strength of love and hope to overcome shared traumas that Indigenous people from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific have continued to face.
'We are Still Here' is out now in select NZ cinemas and will be released in Australia on the 16th of Feb.
We talk to two of the Pasifika directors involved with the project about their short film 'Uniform' that was part of the anthology.
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MARIO GAOA & MIKI MAGASIVA - UNIFORM
What is WE ARE STILL HERE about?
WASH is a collective of 8 indigenous films.…more
Red, White & Brass Trailer
From the producers of 'The Breaker Upperers', 'Cousins' and 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople', 'Red, White & Brass' is the debut feature film for director Damon Fepulea’i who co-wrote with co-producer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau.
The film stars John-Paul Foliaki (Popstars), Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (The Panthers), Ilaisaane Green (Brutal Lives), Onetoto Ikavuka, Mikey Falesiu (Toke), Lupeti Finau, Lotima Pome (Under the Vines), and Haanz Fa'avae-Jackson (Savage).
The 4 track EP which features original music from Three Houses Down and a few of the cast is available now - Click here
Tongans are renowned for their enthusiastic support of their sporting teams; decorating their cars, houses and faces with the Tongan flag. Inspired by a true story, Red, White & Brass showcases this māfana energy.
The underdog story follows a community of Tongans who form a brass band as the pre-game entertainment in a desperate attempt to get tickets to the 2011 Rugby World Cup Tonga vs France game.
“The māfana energy in the film is infectious,” says Fepulea’i.…more
Pacific Players Playing the Super Bowl 2023
This years NFL Super Bowl is between The Philadelphia Eagles and The Kansas City Chiefs. Amongst these two teams are a group of islanders holding it down for their teams in the biggest American Football event of the year.
Here are Pasifika players you'll be able to spot in Super Bowl LVII on Monday 13th 12.30pm NZDT:
* NB These are just the Pacific island players on the actual playing roster who are likely to be in the run on teams on Super Bowl Sunday. We haven't included players in the reserves or training squads
Jordan Mailata
Team: The Philadelphia Eagles
Position: Offensive Tackle
Lafoga Jordan Mailata is a Samoan offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was born and raised in Australia where he previously played rugby league. He joined the NFL via the league's International Player Pathway Program. He was selected in the 7th round, 233rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft, despite having no prior football experience.
You may also recognise his face from FOX's The Masked Singer.…more
MOANA PASIFIKA - Media Day
We catch up with a few of the Moana Pasifika boys at Moana Pasifika HQ for Media Day ahead of the start of their Super Rugby season.
They share what music they listen to before a game, who their childhood rugby hero was, which player they're most looking forward to tackling, their favourite island food and more ...
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ICYMI Sky have also announced a partnership with Moana Pasifika to enable reach and build connections into Pasifika communities including creating content and products to engage Moana Pasifika fans both in NZ and worldwide. They're also keen to support community initiatives.
The shared content creation initiatives will enable the partners to tell authentic Pasifika stories, and for Moana Pasifika content to be available across Sky’s ecosystem (including some free-to-air on Prime).
Stranded in Paradise
“The saddest thing to see are the people sleeping at the airport because they have no money for accommodation” - Tamati Ratahi
“Paradise now feels like a prison when you are trapped here and the people who rely on to get you out arent speaking to you” - Aaron Davy
"I’m one of the kiwis stuck in Samoa. Air NZ would never treat people in Europe like they’re treating us” - Michelle Blau via Twitter
“The Air NZ office in Apia is locked. People start queuing at 7 am for the chance to talk to someone. I waited 3 hours and got nowhere. The staff were lovely but overwhelmed and powerless…People were crying about running out of medicine, missing their spot in Uni programmes, missing medical appointments etc. We got an email saying it would be 72 hours before we hear anything from Air NZ.…more
Councillors and Community advocates rally for Māngere residents hit hard by Auckland flooding
The Māngere community was one of the hardest hit areas in South Auckland affected by the flooding on January 27th.
After it was announced the South Auckland evacuation centre was going to be in Randwick Park, Manurewa; Local Mangere councillors and community advocates fought hard to have a community information pop up centre set up for Māngere residents struggling to find info on where to get help and access support services.
They will be moving tomorrow from the Māngere Memorial Hall in Māngere Bridge (Tuesday 31st Jan) to Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Pool & Leisure Centre where it will become an official evacuation centre complete with beds and showers as well as the social services shown in the video above.
Māngere-Otāhuhu local board chair Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich said that they've found there are many people who still don't realise this service is available and are calling on people to let friends and family know that they can either come to the Evacuation Centre OR that there are outreach teams available to go out and assist families at their homes.…more
Auckland Floods: Where to get financial help, accommodation and food
On Friday the 27th of January, severe flooding hit Auckland after the City of Sails received 75% of their usual summer rainfall within 15 hours. It resulted in slips, evacuations and flooding with roads across the region blocked.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown decided to declare a State of Emergency at 9.54pm after flooding wreaked havoc with peak hour traffic and Auckland airport went under water resulting in flights being cancelled and at least 2000 passengers stuck there overnight.
Some of the worst hit areas around Auckland below -
As at 5.10pm, Monday 30th Jan, all Auckland education facilities have been ordered to close until February 7 as Auckland grapples with wild weather and flood damage.
So far up to four people have died - Two people were found dead in Wairau Valley while the third was found in Remuera and the fourth in Onewhero, Waikato.
At a media conference on Sunday afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the death of four people was was 'horrific'.
"I think it's been a traumatic experience. ...…more
The 2023 Eddie Aikau - Biggest Waves Of My Life: Zeke Lau
Known as the “Super Bowl of surfing,” the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational was held for the first time since 2016 in Hawaii over the weekend, as organizers said an estimated 50,000 people were packed on the beach to watch.
This also marked just the 10th time the event has ever been held due to the tournament’s rules which require open-ocean swells to reach a minimum height of 20 feet before it can commence.
The tournament also featured women for the first time ever.
The format saw athletes surfing two rounds of five heats each - each surfer could ride a maximum of four waves in each round.
After eight hours of intense action, the wave of the day award went to native Hawaiian pro surfer Zeke Lau - catch his highlights from the experience in the video above.
Ultimately, Luke Shepardson ended up taking the crown scoring a near-perfect 89.1 out of a possible 90 points, with three waves counting to the final result, and each scored out of 30.
Jason Momoa welcomed to Auckland marae during visit to NZ
Hawaiian Hollywood heavyweight Jason Momoa visited Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland yesterday, receiving a royal welcome.
It's the latest show of love for Aotearoa from the actor, who's embraced Māori culture before.
Momoa - who's in New Zealand filming his new series Chief of War - was welcomed to the marae with a pōwhiri.
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Video by 1News
HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - BLOODY SAMOAN
Samoan
Comic Book Artist, Professional Wrestler and Owner of 'Bloody Samoan Art' Company
We got to hear from multidisciplinary artist Michel Mulipola also known as Bloody Samoan, about the amazing work he has been doing since our original Humans Of The Island profile on him in 2016. Since then he has accomplished a long list of achievements including working on an exciting new project with Disney.
Hear about Michel's work here...
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You've been working with Disney this year, what has that experience been like for you?
Working as a Story Artist for the Disney Animation Studios has been an absolutely fantastic experience for me. As I have no background in the animation field, the challenges presented by this new (to me) medium has pushed my creative limits in a good way. I have learnt so much over the last 6 months from everyone in the Story Team.
I've been fortunate to be able to work from home in Māngere for Disney but I was lucky enough to work from the Disney Animation Building in Burbank, Los Angeles in November/December.…more