Tuesday, January 31, 2011
World Premiere of “The Tuiga, Part 2” to Take Place this Tuesday at Maliu Mai
South Seas Pictures Ltd. invites the public to the world premiere of the new work by Samoan filmmaker Tanupo Aukuso,
“The Tuiga, Part 2“ tonight at 7 p.m. at the Maliu Mai Beach Resort. The new film is the sequel to the acclaimed film
“The Tuiga” from 2011, and was filmed mostly in American Samoa featuring a cast of local actors.
“I was impressed with our American Samoa cast,” said Aukuso. “Once they understand the filmmaking process and how to
perform for the camera, they have a natural talent for acting.” Aukuso explained that new film, with scenes in both
American Samoa and the independent State of Samoa, took approximately three months to complete, which included three
weeks worth of filming here in the Territory.
“It’s difficult being a Samoan filmmaker,” Aukuso reflected. “We’re the first film company to base our
operations mainly in Samoa, but it’s a pleasure to explore a uniquely Samoan way of making films”. Aukuso’s company,
South Seas Pictures Ltd., has an editing facility set up in Samoa, with additional resources in New Zealand. His
dedication has paid off with several of his works, such as parts one and two of “Broken Promises”, and part one of “The
Tuiga” receiving invitations for screenings at film festivals in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
The plot of “The Tuiga Part 2” examines the challenges of maintaining Samoan traditions in modern times. Part
one focused on the main character Pualemamae, the chosen taupou of her aiga and village in Samoa. Her life becomes
complicated when she is first chosen to receive the traditional Samoan head dress called the tuiga as she assumes the
role of a taupou, only to discover she is pregnant by her boyfriend. Part one of “The Tuiga” concluded with Pualemamae
being banished from her village in Samoa and headed for American Samoa still carrying her unborn infant. Part two picks
up the story of her time in American Samoa, where she faces the challenges of preparing for single parenthood while
living with relatives, and, before her child is born, she receives an unexpected message from Samoa relating to her
aiga.
The committee organizing this coming Tuesday’s screening is made up of the cast and crew who have worked on the
film, who have taken responsibility for the media coverage, food, transportation and fundraising associated with the
event. “We hope members of the public will join us for this premiere because this is the first feature film to be shot
in American Samoa since the original ‘Return to Paradise’ in 1953,”said cast member Salamasina Utta Figiel-Leiato, who
plays a co-worker and friend of Pualemamae in the film. “It also talks about how our culture is very much alive but also
challenged by changing attitudes and realities,”
This Tuesday’s world premiere screening of “The Tuiga Part 2” will include entertainment and an opportunity for
the public to meet filmmaker Aukuso and his cast. DVD copies of the film will also be available. A $10 admission will be
charged. Everyone involved in the making of “The Tuiga, Part 2” gratefully acknowledges the invaluable support of their
sponsors Maliu Mai Beach Resort, ASTCA, Inter-Island Airways, Western Union, and Samoa Shipping Corporation in American
Samoa, and Monalisa Hotel and Tanu Beach Fales Manase in Samoa.
ends