NZ's screen heritage is rich with Pasifika content – from music videos to films, NZ On Screen's Zara Potts looks at some of the screen titles featured in a new online Pacific Collection.
The relationship between Pacific peoples and Aotearoa has always been a strong one, and our shared bonds are well reflected in our television and film history.
From early Pictorial Parade footage of independence struggles, through the tumultuous years of fighting for a nuclear-free Pacific, right through to the cutting-edge music videos of the 2000s – our Pasifika screen heritage is a rich and varied record of the region's political and cultural history.
To showcase this veritable treasure trove, NZ On Screen has released a new collection dedicated to the Pacific and there are lots of gems to be discovered.
Sons for the Return Home tells the story of a Romeo and Juliet romance between students Sione, a NZ-raised Samoan, and Sarah, a middle class palagi. The film is adapted from Albert Wendt's landmark novel of the same name. Fun fact: Our Minister of Broadcasting Kris Faafoi has a role in the film.