RNZ, in partnership with the Pan-Asian Screen Collective (PASC) and Pacific Islands Screen Artists (PISA), has announced the eight selected projects that will receive funding from the RNZ PASC PISA Development Fund.

This initiative, launched in early 2025, aims to help skilled Asian and Pacific storytellers realize their screen ideas. The response was overwhelming. A total of 67 submissions arrived from across the country, showcasing stories that reflect the rich creativity and cultural perspectives of Aotearoa’s diverse communities.

After a careful selection process led by industry experts and cultural advisors, eight standout projects—four from each group—have been awarded $20,000 in development funding. The aim is to prepare these projects for the next step: production funding, with RNZ supporting them as a platform.

RNZ Commissioner Tim Burnell emphasizes RNZ’s commitment to better represent Aotearoa’s diverse voices. “This fund helps great ideas move closer to becoming reality,” he said.…more

“As a Samoan, my experiences shape everything that I write. How I see the world through the eyes of a woman, mother and daughter. Challenge the way the world chooses to see me and others who look like me.”

Writer and actor Nora Aati makes a commanding entrance into the world of Pacific storytelling with her bold new short film I Am Not Your Dusky Maiden. Premiering at the 2025 Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival and selected as a finalist for Ngā Whanaunga Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best, the film is already making an impact.

“My name is Nora Aati, and I come from the villages of Safune, Faleasi’u, Falelatai, Manono, and Apia in Sāmoa,” she says. “I was born in Aotearoa and currently reside in Tāmaki Makaurau with my husband and five children.” Though she began as an actress, it was the lack of roles for Pacific women that led her to write her own.…more

Aalyana Teata Partsch

Hauora Advocate, Entrepreneur & Māmā

Aalyana is an entrepreneur and advocate for cultural connection, community empowerment, and indigenous wellbeing. As a daughter, wife, māmā, friend, and leader, Aalyana continues to weave her values of faith, honesty, aroha, and kaitiakitanga into every part of her life. This passionate trailblazer’s whakapapa connects her to the beautiful islands of Sāmoa and Tahiti.

She seeks opportunities to deepen her connection to her own cultural roots while embracing the wisdom of other indigenous traditions, believing that shared knowledge can help us heal, thrive and connect. As the founder of I Mahi Ora, Aalyana is leading a transformative initiative that reimagines health and wellbeing for Māori and Pasifika young adults through indigenous frameworks.…more

Beaulah Koale, Fasitua Amosa, Taofia Peseta, Shimpal Lelisi, Iaheto Ah Hi and Haanz Faavae Jackson are just a few of our starry Pasifika actors that have played the Black Faggot characters over the years.

Now the queen of film and stage Anapela Polata’ivao brings Auckland the latest iteration of this groundbreaking theatre piece.

Victor Rodger ONZM’s Black Faggot returns to Tāmaki Makaurau with fire, wit and a renewed sense of urgency, opening at Q Theatre’s Rangatira stage from June 25 to 29. Boldly queer and unapologetically Pasifika, the play reclaims a label historically used to silence and shame, delivering humour, depth and truth in every line.

First staged in 2013 in response to Destiny Church’s “Enough is Enough” march and later protests against marriage equality, Black Faggot remains unflinchingly relevant in 2024. Rodger reflects on the origins of the piece, saying:

“At the very, very least, one of those kids marching against the bill will be gay and feeling wretched about themselves as they grow up… Black Faggot is a response to that.…more

The 2025 Pacific Music Awards are nearly here—and the excitement has already begun. Last night, finalists were revealed in a packed ceremony at the Māngere Arts Centre, where Pacific creatives gathered to celebrate the growing legacy of our music and stories.

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the awards, with a record-breaking 34 finalists named across 13 categories. Among them are 15 first-time nominees, reflecting the rising wave of new Pacific talent across Aotearoa.

One of the exciting categories is the NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video, where five bold and beautifully crafted visuals have made the final cut:

This category is a chance to shine a light on the visual expressions of our talented musicians, but also the Pasfiika directors who have brought this vision to life: 

For director Samson Rambo, The Lecture was always about more than a music video.

“For me, The Lecture was always about creating a cultural impact that future generations.…more

The announcement of Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best is here, and we’re proud to celebrate the Pacific talent featured in this year’s powerful selection. Out of 88 submissions, 13 films were chosen, with four of them involving members of PISA (Pacific Islands Screen Artists).

Congratulations to everyone involved in these standout projects:

🎥 Picking Crew

A subtle and moving exploration of Pasifika masculinity and where it intersects with queerness and cultural expectations.
Directed by Tanu Gago, a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker born in Sāmoa and raised in Manukau. His work draws heavily on his South Auckland roots, focusing on gender, identity, and urban life.
The film stars Henry Auva’a, an actor with a background in theatre, film, and commercial work, who recently featured in the coming-of-age Polyfest film First Place.

🎥 Let’s Settle This

Directed by Jack Woon and produced by siblings Stallone and Abba-Rose Vaiaoga-Ioasa. The duo is known for creating self-funded Pacific films including 3 Wise Cousins, Hibiscus & Ruthless, and Take Home Pay. Usually, Stallone directs while Abba-Rose produces.…more

Moe Laga, the revered performance artist, mother, healer and fearless fa’afafine voice from South Auckland, returns to the stage with Fetū x Fetu’u — a powerful solo work premiering for one night only as part of F.O.L.A. [AKL].

The piece was developed during Moe’s three-month ANIVA residency at Pātaka Museum in Porirua, supported by Creative New Zealand. It became a space for deep reflection and transformation.

“Fetū x Fetu’u is a solo performance work born out of my time as the ANIVA...Over three months, I was given space to reflect, grieve, and shed skin,” Moe says.

“This work is deeply personal, a constellation of stories, ancestors, curses, and blessings. It draws from my experiences as a Samoan fa’afafine born in Aotearoa, navigating the sacred and the profane, the celestial and the shadow. The title itself speaks to duality — Fetū (stars/light) and Fetu’u (curses/darkness). It came about because I needed a space where all of me could exist.”

Fetū x Fetu’u is presented in collaboration with Cypris Afakasi — a Māori and Samoan, Irakē interdisciplinary performance artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau.…more

Ursula Grace Williams is the director of the beautiful new documentary on global smash hit musician Marlon Williams, ‘Ngā Ao E Rua’

The Samoan director tells us why the doco was an important story to tell, and about some of her other documentary work that has spoken so strongly to Pasifika audiences.

Straight out of Ōtara, South Auckland, Village90 are a five-piece band breathing fresh life into Aotearoa’s music scene, bringing back the soulful grooves and smooth melodies of early 2000s R&B. 

Village90 is made up of lead singer Daniel "Dansz", bassist Elcid, guitarist William "Nami" Langi, drummer Sione Langi, and keys player Doulos. All five grew up in South Auckland, carrying strong Samoan and Tongan heritage.

The group came together while studying at MAINZ (Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand). “We had known each other outside of studying through gigging and high school but jamming together at MAINZ is when we decided to become a band,” they said. 

Originally aiming to be a covers band inspired by groups like Beat Council and Levite Session Band, they spent two years gigging all over Auckland before finding their identity: “It all culminated in us playing a hybrid RnB style.” In 2019, they released their first original single, Young Love, and have been releasing music ever since.

Their shared love of music remains at the heart of everything they do.…more

Tiare Savea takes us behind the scenes of the Tinā premiere, chatting with Anapela Polataivao (who plays Mareta Percival) about the grind it took to make this movie. Plus, peep the crews fit check as they flex on the red carpet.

Director : Shimpal Lelisi

Camera : Fa'anati Mamea

Sound : Marcus Lawson

Editor : Mario Gaoa

Talent : Tiare Savea