An ambitious project from the outset, A Dollar to Dream producer Abba Rose Vaiaoga-Ioasa, writer and director Fa’alavaau Jeremiah Tauamiti and TV3 Samoa’s resolve to make a musical in Gagana Samoa has seen the film earn two prestigious awards at the 2026 Pacific Island Film Festival (PIFF) in New York City.
Presented at PIFF by Pasifika On Air, Abba Rose was at the festival to accept this year’s Best Short Film and Kim Taylor Reece Cinematic Vision Awards for the film about a young boy dreaming big.
“To take this little film all the way from Apia to New York and then come home with two awards was a really special moment,” Abba Rose says, after having some time to process the news.
“It means a lot…this project was ambitious from the beginning.
“We wanted to make a Samoan musical — something that was meaningful and entertaining – but also grounded in the reality of a young person trying to dream beyond their circumstances.”
Abba Rose says having the opportunity for her story – and others – to travel beyond Pacific shores matters.
“There are so many talented filmmakers and storytellers across the Pacific, and our stories don’t have to change who they are in order to connect with audiences elsewhere,” she says.
“A Dollar to Dream is set in Sāmoa and all spoken in the Samoan language.
“To have audiences in New York respond to that is a reminder we can tell stories in Gagana Samoa, set them in Samoa, fill them with our music, culture and people, and audiences elsewhere will still connect and enjoy these.”
Festivals such as PIFF also give Pacific filmmakers a space to see each other’s work to celebrate each other and recognise there is a growing body of Pacific cinema that deserves to be seen internationally, she adds.
Two other POA films were screened at the opening night of PIFF, including Love and Kastom co-produced by Adrian Stevenon and Vanuatu Broadcasting Television Corporation, and Descendants of Niue, co-produced by Sandra Kailahi and Broadcasting Corporation of Niue.
Abba Rose says one of the most rewarding things about the project is seeing what can happen when Pacific creatives are given the opportunity and resources to make ambitious work in their own places, in their own languages and with their own people.
“Hopefully A Dollar to Dream is one small contribution to a much bigger future for Pacific storytelling,” she says.
“To budding filmmakers across the region, find your people.
“Filmmaking is incredibly collaborative, and so much of A Dollar to Dream was possible because people believed in the project and brought their own skills and creativity to it.
“Build relationships, keep learning, make things, make mistakes and keep going.”