Lea Tupu'anga: Tongan short film about language moves audience to tears at Sundance

Tongan story captures hearts at Sundance film festival duration9′ :23″ from Pacific Waves Add to playlist Download

Two Tongan-New Zealand filmmakers are behind the short film Lea Tupu'anga Mother Tongue, helping people to grapple with cultural identity and language trauma, as the story explores a young woman's journey to reconnect with her Tongan heritage.

The film was selected out of 17,000 applications for Sundance, which boasts of launching the careers of some of the greatest directors in the world, such as Christopher Nolan.

Lea Tupu'anga Mother Tongue premiered on Monday (NZT) at Sundance Film Festival in the United States.

"We thought let's just give it a gamble and we struck it lucky," director Vea Mafile'o said, explaining it was the first film festival they applied for.

"Language is the theme of the entire short...it is a symbol," writer and actor Luciane Buchanan said.

Buchanan is best known for her lead role in the Netflix hit show, Night Agent.

Luciane Buchanan

Although the Tongan language was being heard on the big screen, Buchanan said the story was accessible to a wider audience as it explores "who we are without language".

Both Mafile'o and Buchanan have experienced not being able to speak the Tongan language, which was the driving force behind telling the story.

"It was very cathartic for me writing it. I have kind of gotten to the space of acceptance where this is a life long journey. It is not going to be fixed in a year," Buchanan said.

"Everyone is on their own journey whether it is Te Reo or Tongan. There are so many factors as to why we do not have those language skills."

Language is universal and something many of the film's audience had already resonated with, they said.

"This film transcends cultures. A Black American man came up to me crying and resonated with it. An Iranian man was crying and told me this is my story. This is a global dilemma," Mafile'o said.

Director Vea Mafile'o

A rare voice

Pacific films are scarce, especially in the United States.

There was only one other Pacific film at Sundance, and it is Hawaiian.

"We are the minority of the minority over here in America," she said.

"Pacific islanders are under the same category as Asian. So essentially that is the same basket we are lumped into. It is definitely a voice that is rare in this space."

Spotlight on Pacific creatives
Mafile'o said she wanted more Pasifika to join the film industry.

"I am super excited about how this film can potentially highlight this is a space where Pacific belong."

She explained, "it is not just actor director."

There are other roles within the film industry such as editor, camera person, set builder and coffee maker, she said.

"There are so many jobs [in film] that I think our people haven't realised yet."

The pair hope to bring the film to the New Zealand International Film Festival.

- RNZI