Photo caption: A team from Dreamcast Theater in Solomon Islands are one of 10 successful recipients of Pasifika On Air’s inaugural Focus on Film Masterclass and Shorts Fund. Photo credit: Dreamcast Theater.
By Michelle Curran
Executive Communications Manager, Pasifika TV/PCBL
Ten crews from Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Hawai’i have beaten fierce competition to be selected for Pasifika On Air’s (POA) inaugural Focus on Film Masterclass and Shorts Fund.
A total of 43 teams from ten Pacific countries put forward applications for the new initiative, launched this year, by POA General Manager Nicole Rex Taofinu’u.
The successful crews consisting of Pacific-based filmmakers, producers and affiliated Pacific broadcast teams will explore Pacific story sovereignty, sustainable creative industries, and the storytelling development under the tutelage renown Aotearoa-born Samoan filmmaker and interim General Manager at Pacific Islands Screen Artists (PISA), Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa.
Nicole explains the initiative is designed to build long-term filmmaking capability, strengthen professional practice, and establish sustainable pathways for Pacific filmmakers to create culturally grounded screen content for regional and international audiences, rather than solely investing in content outputs.
“Our point of difference is we are combining capability building with content creation, which is future focused and exciting,” Nicole says.
“These talented teams will participate in a structured programme combining an intensive masterclass coached by Stallone and receive staged production funding of NZD $30,000 per team.”
With the additional bonus of all completed films premiering on PCBL platforms, and selected films entered into the Pacific Island Film Festival New York City, 2027, the quality and geographic spread of applications significantly exceeded expectations, Nicole adds.
So, while five teams were originally supposed to be selected, a further five made the final cut.
“Many of the teams demonstrated strong creative potential, delivery capability, and strong alignment with POA’s objectives – story sovereignty and development and nurturing sustainable creative industries – so we expanded the programme,” Nicole adds.
“While in many respects it is a challenging time for film makers, especially in the region, this initiative breathes new life and opportunity into the creative storytelling space.
“Our Pacific people are storytellers by nature, and I cannot wait to see what these crews bring to our screens.”
Successful Masterclass and Shorts Fund recipients:
- MP Studio (Apia, Samoa)
- Cook Islands TV (Rarotonga, Cook Islands)
- Pacific Standard Time (Rarotonga, Cook Islands)
- Suva Hotspots and Histories (Suva, Fiji)
- Tali Films (Suva, Fiji)
- The WANS Ltd (Port Moresby, PNG)
- Pixel Production (Port Moresby, PNG)
- Dreamcast Theater (Solomon Islands)
- Native Lens (Solomon Islands)
- Knew Country (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
Visit Pasifika On Air for more information.