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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 11, 2005

Fijian family's tale told through 'Eyes' of a camera

 •  Review: Struggle depicted with simple grace

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

James Davenport, an actor from Kailua, plays the judge as he interviews Viki, played by Sapeta Taito from Rotuma. Viki is a young woman fighting to maintain her family's honor after her father is accused of stealing. Villagers taunt her for being poor, but Viki is determined to rebound, inspired by a mythical Warrior Woman.

Te Maka Productions photos


Honolulu resident Paul Atkins, director of photography, films Maeeko Tomniko in a scene in the movie.
Before making his first feature film, Vilsoni "Vili" Hereniko met a movie-maker from India who gave him the best advice possible:

Look to your past, retrace your life, then share that story.

"I was told to do a story that was close to my heart," said Hereniko, whose first feature film, "The Land Has Eyes (Pear ta ma 'on maf)," makes its first commercial run starting today at the Dole Cannery Theatres.

"The advice was that my first feature should be set on an island I know, which is Rotuma, my birthplace, because 'that's the story only you could tell, better than anyone else,' " said Hereniko. " 'Go back to your childhood first.' Of course, I didn't want to go back; there was the issue of the death of my father, and the shame that happened to my family."

That was the premise of "Land," shot with a budget of just under $1 million, the first feature from a Fijian from Rotuma. Hereniko directed and wrote the screenplay; his wife, Jeannette Paulson Hereniko, co-produced, via their Te Maka Productions company.

Not surprisingly, the story is near and dear to him. It incorporates a father accused of a crime he didn't commit. But the protagonist now is a girl.

Flash to Rotuma for a moment, and imagine a South Pacific island with little electricity, no hotel or restaurant, and a population of 2,500 that speaks a distinctive Polynesian language.

VILSONI 'VILI' HERENIKO

Age: 50.

Birthdate: Oct. 3, 1954.

Hometown: Mea village, Hapmak, in the Itu'tu'u district on Rotuma.

Education: Schooling in Rotuma, Queen Victoria School in Fiji, University of the South Pacific, University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

Married to: Jeannette Paulson Hereniko.

Current occupation: Professor at the Center for Pacific Island Studies, University of Hawai'i-Manoa; teaches literature, theater and film.

Plays written: "The Last Virgin in Paradise," "Fine Dancing."

Other films: "Just Dancing," a short film based on his "Fine Dancing" play.

Heads up: "The Land Has Eyes" will be in the Paris International Film Festival March 30-April 5, Singapore International Film Festival April 17-26, Hanoi Film Festival April 17-26, Freiburg, Germany, Film Forum May 1-8, Commonweath Film Festival May 5-7, MoMA New York and Washington, D.C., May 14.

Next up: "Welcome to My Island," his second screenplay, about a Pacific islander filmmaker and his American producer who work on an indie film on a remote South Seas island involving a modern-day Jesus, a self-appointed queen and a drug addict.

Imagine Hereniko's film crew of 14, spending 40 days to make the movie entirely on this island. Ninety-eight percent of the cast were Rotumans with no acting experience, and the filmmakers were assigned to families who agreed to house, feed and welcome the visitors.

In "Land," Hereniko retains a solid story-sharing skill with eye-filling clarity. He weaves in a number of themes, ranging from the love of the 'aina to the desire to move on, from family pride to societal shame, from traditional values to changing times, from dashed hopes to lofty dreams.

"Land," which had its world premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, is a narrative drama set in the late 1960s.

The tale focuses on Viki (newcomer Sapeta Taito), who prides herself on maintaining the integrity of her family's name after her father, Hapati, is accused of stealing. The villagers taunt her for being poor, but Viki is determined to counter the teasings and rebound through the inspiration of the mythic Warrior Woman (played by Rena Owen, of "Once Were Warriors" fame).

Hereniko said the Warrior Woman is the founding myth of Rotuma. "She has seven brothers, and one took advantage of her, then abandoned her. According to legend, that's supposedly how the first woman got on the island. It's interesting that it was a woman, not a man, to first inhabit the island. And according to the oral tradition, the brothers traveled on a canoe from Samoa and left her on the island before moving on to Fiji. That's how Rotuma today has historical and cultural connections with Fiji."

The movie draws heavily from his life.

"The protagonist originally was a boy; I mined all the actual events of my life, and Jeannette (his wife), said, 'Why don't you change the boy to a girl? Maybe that will free you up,' " said Hereniko. "I resisted, but once I agreed, it allowed me to use more imagination. It was a greater story — and it still had integrity."

Hereniko, who has written plays, academic books and articles, discovered how accessible the movie was to the story-loving Rotumans when he brought his finished product back to Rotuma to share.

"It was amazing; the people came out of the woodwork, even the old folks; the laymen who no longer go to church found their legs. They all wanted to see the film," he said.

"We hauled white sheets from the hospital, rented a projector from the University of South Pacific, and brought the movies to all seven districts on the island and even to the school where the protagonist attended. Some programs were outdoors; we even had a screening on the veranda of the hospital, in spite of the message in the film when the father is ill and the line is, 'Don't take him to the hospital; he'll die there.' "

The lush cinematography, particularly the water sequences, are first rate, the work of Paul Atkins, the Oscar-winning cinematographer for the Cape Horn sequence in the Russell Crowe sea saga, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World."

Rena Owen plays the mythological Warrior Woman in the movie.
"Paul has been a friend of Jeannette for years — he and his wife, Gracie, live nearby at Portlock — and Paul was very interested in doing a feature, having done so many documentaries. So it was a pair of two husbands and wives — Jeannette and me and Paul and Gracie — who worked on the film. It has been a nice friendship, personally and professionally," said Hereniko.

Gracie was the sound recorder, Jeannette the producer.

The filming logistics were daunting. The crews had to bring generators, refrigerator and food for the 40-day shoot. Rotuma is not exactly the hub of air or sea traffic; to get supplies and equipment over, the movie-makers hired a cargo boat, which took three days and three nights to get the necessities and filming gear to the island. A plane was too small.

Rotuma is 300 miles north of Fiji, about 80 square miles in size. "Changes are happening so fast," said Hereniko. "Small planes fly to the island once a week, a boat goes once every two to three months, and it's still a remote existence," he said. "Many people now have phones; many thatched homes have been replaced."

Hereniko said "Land" emerged after the release of two other popular Polynesian films, "Once Were Warriors" and "Whale Rider," though filming of his film was done before "Whale." "It's a good thing our film came out after these; many who came to ours enjoyed the earlier films," he said.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.

• • •

Struggle depicted with simple grace

MOVIE REVIEW

• "The Land Has Eyes"

• Opening today, Dole Cannery Theatres

• Unrated; subtitled

• 87 minutes

"The Land Has Eyes," opening its first commercial-house run today, focuses on a young, forthright South Pacific girl, Viki, who soaks up the stories of her father, Hapati. This is a tale of struggle, strength and survival not common in the Western world.

The story, largely autobiographical, is by a native Rotuman, Vilsoni "Vili" Hereniko, who changed the protagonist from a young male to a young female to link with a myth about the Warrior Woman, said to be the first inhabitant of Rotuma.

The film explores neighborly friction, governmental fraud, personal loss and lofty goals — all the while revealing eloquent moments of simple Rotuman life.

Sapeta Taito, as Viki, brings a riveting presence to the story. Her main goal in life is to expand her horizons by attending school on Fiji, where doors would be open to help end the family's life of hardship. In the process, she fends off accusations of wrongdoing, challenges authority and ultimately performs incredible deeds.

Hereniko (pictured), a University of Hawai'i-Manoa professor who is making his feature-film debut, clearly maintains his obligation of depicting his peers as earnest but somewhat naive victims of colonial leadership and governance, not only in court matters but in schools.

The common folk are pioneers in the fight of right vs. wrong, and in the Viki character, Hereniko has found a heroic role model not unlike the mythic Warrior Woman, portrayed by the hypnotic Rena Owens, who, in the opening scenes, is depicted as a woman wronged. Both fight for their own identity and integrity.

Grounding the moral fibre of his screenplay with a legend that connects to the Rotuma community, the opening sequence — relayed as a story Hapati (Voi Fesaitu), the father, is sharing with his family — taps cultural integrity and family tradition with simple grace. Through hardship and dedication, the Warrior Woman perseveres against all odds, the way Viki endures despite her antagonists.

Hereniko wisely utilizes the Rotuma language (there are English subtitles) to relay his stories. The misinterpretations regarding Hapati's guilt/innocence reflect the frustration of the Rotumans with the courts and government in general. When her father dies, Viki confronts the fear of abandonment and the pangs of isolation, but embraces her destiny and shapes her future in the same way of the Warrior Woman.

Cinematographer Paul Atkins, also of Honolulu, captures both the tranquil beauty and drabness of the small island as well as the color and splendor of Rotuma seas. And Hawai'i-based composer Audy Kimura has augmented Clive Cockburn's music with the syncopation and pulse of the island, establishing a sense of place.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.