We are moving stories

“My family moved to Maui in 1969; the islands have been very kind to us. I observed much as a child which is reflected in the movie; namely the routine bombing of Kaho’olawe, a Hawaiian island, by the US Navy for target practice, and the fact that no one was doing anything to stop it at the time. The Hawaiian renaissance of the mid-seventies brought a battle by the people to regain control of the island’s future, and a gradual return of culture and tradition, language and indigenous arts. KULEANA is an act of culture, it is something I suppose I began writing at age 5.”

“In addition to loss, grief and reconciliation from that pain, The Bridge is a story about family and culture. I incorporated Hawaiian culture and their beliefs and practices around their ancestors, however, although I am a longtime resident of Hawaii, I am not Hawaiian. We invited a cultural advisor to view an early cut of the film and she immediately was interested in coming on board. Hina Leimoana Wong was the head of the Hawaiian burial counsel and an advocate for accurate representation of Hawaiian culture in films, so The Bridge needed her input for cultural accuracy. After Hina viewed the rough cut the first time she said that I had done a beautiful job of fusing western ideals with Hawaiian spirituality, which was a tremendous compliment.”

“When the 2018 false missile alert happened, we looked at it as an opportunity to make a film about what it would be like if you only had a few minutes to live and what you would choose to do with those final moments. We assumed a lot of people would look at a story like this from a dramatic standpoint and we wanted to look at it through humorous lens, showcasing a couple who loved each other, knew each other, but still got on each other’s nerves and drove each other crazy even in an intense moment like this.”

“I’ve lived my life as a peace activist and filmmaker. Some of my most profound experiences in these fields have been with U.S. war veterans, hearing their stories and perspectives. When I was approached by producer Wendy Rogan to make a film for Veterans for Peace, I jumped at the chance. Then, hearing the amazing story of the historic peace boat that sailed into a nuclear bomb zone, and the new mission of the boat set out by Veterans for Peace, I knew it would make an exciting and inspiring film.”

“This film has been an incredible journey over the six years of its making. Why did I make it? I like telling stories that have the ability to change the story. The Memory of Fish presents a living case study of one of the biggest markers in US environmental history through a gem of a character, a legend in the Pacific Northwest, Dick Goin. I knew this was a special project, especially since Dick had refused filmmakers in the past to tell his story. And, I knew that I wanted to flex some creative muscles with this project and try something new.”

“Overcoming the struggles of a childhood home split by alcoholism and divorce, these three brothers sought refuge and stability while fishing together on a nearby river. Nurtured by their grandfather, their love of fishing grew through a tricky adolescence and now as adults they still gather for their love of fishing and to recommit their bond as brothers. The film gives a glimpse of one such day on the river, as the brothers withstand the harsh winter elements of the Pacific Northwest in pursuit of the elusive steelhead. The themes of persevering through circumstances and never losing hope are revealed from this simple example of fishing and are applied to their lives in general. ”

“Although the investigation remains officially open, the film’s audience will surely wonder why with today’s advanced forensics, digital investigative tools, DNA testing, and almost monthly headlines of decades-old unsolved homicide cases being closed, this murder is still unsolved in 2021, and in fact, is of total indifference to law enforcement authorities.”

“The tagline is: “Even at the edge of the world, you can’t escape your demons”, and as our main character Jake, haunted by his past, descends into a drug-induced nightmare, he projects and manifests these demons into his life. I think everyone can relate to love, loss, heartbreak, guilt and self doubt. As most of the film takes place outdoors, there are also themes of man vs. nature, and humans being reduced to our most vulnerable and most primal in the wild.”

“In the Pacific Northwest, there’s a real sense that if you don’t do something about it, mold will take over anything that you leave unprotected. That both fascinates and repulses us. Mold is death, breakdown, decay. That’s fundamentally what we, as people, are fighting against. On the lighter side, there’s also the way we fight with our family...”

“For decades, the world has been kept in the dark about West Papua. Through a total media ban on the island, the Indonesian government has managed to keep the ongoing genocide a secret, also with the complicity of mainstream western media. This is now changing as news is beginning to trickle out via alternative media. This is why documentaries like these are important and necessary: the public needs to be informed so that meaningful action can be taken.”

“Nearly 2000 people were arrested 2 May 2016, in mass unarmed civilian based uprisings across the country: in Jayapura, Wamena, Merauke, Manokwari, Timika, Sorong and Fak Fak. The Indonesian police were completely overwhelmed by the size, scale and disciplined defiance of the activists who came from a range of groups organised by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.

In Jayapura, for instance, activists were detained on the oval inside the mobile police brigade’s headquarters. Most people arrested were released by last night. At the time of writing 45, including 19 children aged 8-18, remain in detention in Fak Fak.

The Indonesian police routinely use torture against Papuan dissenters so we are concerned about their welfare. I expect the organisers will be charged with treason and rebellion later this week. At the same time we are noticing that Jakarta is becoming constrained, or at least uncertain of what to do, in the face of rising international support for a free West Papua, especially in the Pacific.”

“My colleagues and I from Make West Papua Safe visited Paniai in January 2015. The visit had been planned for a while. We arrived only a few weeks after the Indonesian police and military opened fire, killing 5 school children and wounding 17. It was the families of the boys and human rights activists and church leaders who asked us to stand with them. ”

“At its heart, Punk rock stands up for the downtrodden and always asks questions of the government. Most punks are very politically and socially aware about the situation in West Papua and feel very strongly about it. And Punks just love to play for a cause, and more importantly play for nothing.”

“Small Island Big Song was produced by my partner the film’s producer (BaoBao Chen) and I (Tim Cole) to do something together to grow our relationship and to do what we could over our concerns of climate change. But we are not documentary filmmakers, ours is not a climate change documentary, I am a filmmaking music producer who has been working with first nation musicians of Oceania for the past three decades, so that’s where we began.”

“We made My Haggan Dream so that the children of the Mariana Islands could celebrate and preserve their nesting sea turtles, whose populations have dropped dramatically. Haggan is the Chamorro word for sea turtle.”

“I supplied the Coxless Crew (the team of rowers) with cameras so they could film their own story out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and I would meet them on land along the way in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Hawaii, Samoa, and ultimately Australia. I would eagerly await the footage during each stop and then find the story as I went along. It was a fascinating process and I could see that as the Crew got closer to me on land, they got closer to the camera on the boat.

It was beautiful to watch them open up and be vulnerable even in times where they felt so lost or alone. The theme of the film stayed consistent but the arcs of each character evolved as it was happening in real time and this was real life unfolding in an unbelievable situation of courage and bravery. I couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.”

“I have been passionate about Melanesia since my first visit as a photographer in 1992. A few years later, I was given Caroline’s second book “New Guinea Headhunt” and was in awe of the story. I discovered her first book “Headhunting in the Solomon Islands” and I knew at that point, I needed to learn more about Caroline Mytinger and her companion, Margaret Warner. The research took several years and once I discovered the location of the original artwork and saw just how beautiful they were – I had a project and story I wanted to tell.”

“My Garden, No Longer blends traditional storytelling with animation and cinéma vérité. This unique approach will leave you with a deeper understanding of how our actions at home affect others in far away places and encourage you to reflect on your contributions to the lives of those far removed from your social network.”

“You should watch this film because you will see a side of life in the Pacific Islands which you have never seen before, and be inspired by the courage, humor, and grace with which leitis and other gender and sexual minorities live their lives, despite tremendous prejudice and discrimination.”

“I hope people will resonate with the characters, the offbeat humour and the underlying themes. Chicken may seem like a simple story about a mixed-race teenage girl who helps her mother who’s been ripped off at the local shops, but it is also a rarely seen look into a mother-daughter relationship complicated by migration, conflicting values and traditions, society and class. It’s Rory and Lorelai from the Gilmore Girls if they were Papua New Guinean migrants in 1990s suburban Sydney.”