Toi Whakaari graduate Luz-Eliana Folau-Tovine, 21, plays Iulia in Freedom Fighters. Photo / Matt Henley
Tight cramped spaces, hours of discomfort, desperately hiding behind furniture or in freezers - all to evade police raids in the middle of the night.
This is the painful reality for Iulia, the main character of Tusi Tamasese’s latest film: Freedom Fighter.
For many, the 1970s dawn raids conjure up dramatic images of police barging into homes, hunting down Pasifika overstayers.
But for Toi Whakaari graduate Luz-Eliana Folau-Tovine, playing the part of Iulia was also important to portray the mundane reality of hiding for hours.
The 21-year-old says Tamasese’s direct style means Freedom Fighter shows the humanity of the people caught up in the controversial dawn raids.
Throughout the film, other characters can be heard pleading “Iulia, please hide me” before police officers enter the home searching for illegal overstayers.
The film won the Auckland Live Spirit of The Civic award at this year’s NZ International Film Festival.
The festival is presenting films across 17 towns and cities until September 10.
Folau-Tovine also won a NZIFF Special Mention Award for her performance that the jury described as “the centrepiece of a film that tackles one of New Zealand’s darkest periods with fearless intent”.
The jury also praised Folau-Tovine for her passion and soulfulness, which they said left an indelible mark on this year’s jury.
Importance of telling stories from a Pacific perspective
“It’s important to tell our Pacific stories, the confrontational themes shouldn’t take away from the story and its authenticity,” Folau-Tovine says.
“Stories are usually watered down to please everyone, but that’s not the purpose of storytelling.”
Director Tusi Tamasese is well-respected in the industry and within the Pacific community.
“You’re doing a disservice to the people that are actually going through it that still remember being dawn raided having to hide - hide family that got sent back and never came back.”
It is also important to tell Samoan stories, she says, because there was zero representation for her, growing up.
“There wasn’t anyone that looked like me and there wasn’t anyone that was a positive representation of our people.”
Folau-Tovine describes herself as an extremely emotional person, so it was easy for her to tap into feelings of isolation and the feelings of loneliness.
In the film, Iulia waits for her visa the longest and it is heartbreaking each time a visa is approved - but it is never hers.
‘We still have to work hard to get our stories told’
Folau-Tovine describes Freedom Fighter as a very raw and honest portrayal of what our people were actually going through back in the day.