We are just one week away from the kickoff of the 44th annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani (HIFF44) with the Opening Night world premiere of TINĀ, the feature film directorial debut of Kiwi-based Samoan filmmaker Miki Magasiva. Tickets are still available – but going fast – for Opening Night, which is screening on October 3rd, 7:00pm at the Consolidated Kahala Theaters.
We asked Anderson Le, HIFF’s Artistic Director, on the reasons the programming team decided to slot TINĀ for HIFF44’s Opening Night:
“Simply put, it’s a beautifully made film, full of heart, humor, tragedy and hope. We’ve been tracking Miki Magasiva’s filmmaking career and he’s a festival alumnus, with his previous works included in past editions. It was surprising to receive his feature film in our call-for-entries, because we had no idea he was working on this film! In many ways, it’s a ‘meat-and-potatoes’ uplifting drama for all ages, similar to MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS or TO SIR, WITH LOVE. Anapela Polataivao as Mareta, the grief-stricken music teacher who finds her groove again when she enters an elite prep school and inspires young students through song, has a unique profundity because of its celebration of Samoan culture and values. Sadly, it’s still rare to see Pasifika stories in mainstream films and what Miki and his cast has crafted is just simply a well-made, beautiful film that is both unique and universal. In other words, a perfect Opening Night film!”
The Festival conducted a short interview with director Miki Magasiva as a precursor to his film’s world premiere next week, where he will be in attendance, along with his cast including star Polataivao, Beulah Koale (who was part of the main cast of CBS’s HAWAII FIVE-O) and other key personnel from cast and crew.
Tell us about your upbringing. What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
I was born in Lefagaoali’i, a small village in Samoa. When I was five, my family moved to New Zealand, settling in Wellington, and it was here that I experienced my first taste in film. A filmmaker came to our school and recruited kids in my class for his short film, STARLIN SICKLE, and I was one of them. I was seven, and that shoot was my most magical childhood experience. It stayed with me, and much later, as a teenager, when I got the opportunity to be on set again, reliving that experience, I knew I wanted to be in the industry. At that stage, I didn’t know what I would do; I just knew this was where I wanted to be.
My father is a chief and orator of our village, and my mother has a natural flare for telling super funny stories. So, I think it’s in our Pacific DNA to be storytellers.
You co-founded The Brown Factory, which champions Pasifika filmed stories. Tell us why centering Pasifika stories, especially Samoan stories, is important to you. What were some of the challenges you faced in development and production?
It’s who we are; it’s unique, beautiful and rare. Creatives constantly attempt to tell stories in fresh, different ways; we already have access to that in our identity, culture and history. We just needed the opportunity to showcase it. The challenge has always been to be taken seriously as creatives, filmmakers, and business practitioners. The company was set up to try and lead the way by proving to the industry and investors that we were worth investing in. We had faith in our ability but needed the opportunity. The ultimate goal is to create a scope of work to prove that Pacific stories and talent should be encouraged and nurtured.
HIFF was honored to screen your past work, including THE PANTHERS, TEINE SĀ and WE ARE STILL HERE. All three were very distinct in their style and genre. How do you approach these stories that are varied, from historical/political (THE PANTHERS) to straight up horror (TEINE SĀ)?
HIFF has been amazingly supportive of my work over the years, and I am very honored and will forever be grateful. In fact—my short film USO also played at HIFF in 2007, so we definitely have a long history.
Each story has a unique approach defined by the story and genre. That’s the exciting part of the process: figuring out how you will tell that particular story. I feel like I’m still early in my career and experimenting with the craft, so I don’t know how I will treat it before I go into it. You start with yourself, what you find interesting or want to explore, you research and see what you’re inspired by, you look at the genre, and investigate the film techniques to scare, create emotion or a sense of time and place. I’ve loved creating a variety of pieces, and I hope I’ll continue to explore different genres in the future.
TINĀ Is your feature film directorial debut. What inspired you to develop this particular story of loss, healing and redemption?
The film is inspired by an actual performance from a real choir group right here in New Zealand. I loved the idea of doing a film with lots of choral music led by a strong Pacific female teacher protagonist. The Pacific has a long tradition of church and choir, and being Samoan growing up in New Zealand, all the story beats seemed to fit nicely into an emotional story.
COVID significantly influenced the material because that’s when I was writing much of the script. Our communities were so divided and perhaps continue to be now. So it felt like the right time for this kind of story, as you say, of healing and redemption but also acceptance and hope—one where we showed that even though we have a history in our differences, the only way I see us overcoming them is through acceptance—and then inspiring that in the way we raise our younger generation.
HIFF is honored to present the world premiere! My understanding is that it is slated for an end of the year release in Aotearoa, New Zealand. What are the film’s next steps after HIFF?
We are set for a release early in the New Year and looking to roll it out in New Zealand first, with the rest of the Pacific soon after, including Australia. We made this film for audiences and hope to release it to strong Pacific territories such as the U.S. and UK/ Europe. We are confident in the film and want the opportunity to put it in front of audiences and let everyone enjoy a bit of Pacific culture.
About TINĀ (HIFF44 Opening Night Film)
TINĀ is an inspiring, rhythmic tear-jerker, about a Samoan teacher named Mareta Percival. Struggling after the death of her daughter in the Christchurch earthquakes, Mareta reluctantly takes on the role of substitute teacher at an elite, all-white private school and is surprised to find supposedly privileged children crying out for guidance, inspiration, and love. Using the symphony of her culture to empower her students, she forms a choir. Mareta has to inspire her kids all while dealing with bias from a privileged community keen to put this colorful Samoan teacher in her place. Samoan actor Anapela Polata’ivao (ONE THOUSAND ROPES, THE BREAKER UPPERERS) is brilliant in this nuanced drama that’s the directorial debut of Samoan-born and Aotearoa-based Miki Magavisa, who last graced HIFF with his work on the groundbreaking television series THE PANTHERS at HIFF 2021. HAWAII FIVE-O’s Beulah Koale turns in a great performance as Anapela’s hānai nephew that gently pushes her to teach at the school to restart her life.
October 3, 7:00pm – Consolidated Kahala
November 9, 5:00pm – Palace Theater (Hilo)
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