Tongan Filmmakers take Sundance by Storm

Tongan Filmmakers Luciane Buchanan and Vea Mafileo have taken Sundance film festival by storm. Where their short film was selected out of an outstanding 17,000 applications.

“Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue,”  follows the journey of a young Tongan speech language therapist. This unique tale unfolds the dynamic between the therapist, fluent in English only, and her client, who exclusively communicates in Tongan.

Written by Luciane Buchanan and Directed by seasoned Documentary Director Vea Mafile’o, the two reflect on what it means as Tongan women in the scripted space at Sundance.

Mafile’o stated “It’s pretty overwhelming and a super exciting space to be in…Previous Polynesian NZFC films that have screened here have been by a handful of Māori and Samoan directors. They really have paved the way for Luciane and I. Itʻs cool that us Taʻahine Tonga can add our Tongan film to the mix”

Buchanan agreed expressing her gratitude for the platform “I feel really grateful that something we poured our hearts into many moons ago gets to be premiered for the first time with an international audience and at this iconic festival.”

The pair have connected with many other inspiring filmmakers and are in awe of the community experience at Sundance

Mafile’o shared “Last night at our world premiere, we were pretty blown away by the enthusiastic response from the crowd who really connected with our Tongan film. It was a Tongan film but it transcends cultures.”

While a great reception from the international audience was great, Buchanan was more concerned about her own. As it’s a Tongan film made by Tongans, for Tongans, it was important to her that they received it well. 

“I think last night as much as I wanted other people in the audience to enjoy our film, it was our Tongan friends joined us at the screening who I was most worried about in terms of their reception to the film. It was only till after the program was over, they embraced us with so much ofa and pride. That really was a special moment.”

It was a special occasion for not just the cast and crew, but also for Polynesian Filmmakers across the Motu. 

The Dynamic duo look forward to bringing their special film home for all to see

Catch more about Lucianne and Vea in below

Luciane Buchanan My World
Vea Mafile'o Filmmaker On The Rise

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