Upcoming movie release 'The Legend of Baron To'a' boasts an all-star Pasifika and Māori cast starring Uli Latukefu, Nathaniel Lees, Jay Laga’aia, John Tui, Shavaughn Ruakere and Fasitua Amosa alongside rising stars Duane Evans Jr. and Lotima Pome’e (General Fiyah).

‘The Legend of Baron To’a’ tells the story of Fritz, a Tongan entrepreneur who returns to his old neighbourhood and inadvertently causes the theft of his late father’s valued pro wrestling title belt by some ruthless gangsters led by ‘man-mountain’ Tahu. When negotiation and diplomacy fail to get it back, he is forced to embrace his father’s legacy to reclaim the title.

'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' meets 'Kung-Fu Hustle' in this action-packed urban adventure directed by Kiel McNaughton.

SAMSON SETU 

ASPIRING OPERA SINGER/PERFORMER & 

WINNER OF THE 2019 CREATIVE NZ ARTS PASIFIKA, IOSEFA ENARI MEMORIAL AWARD

SAMOAN 

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I was born and raised in South Auckland, grew up in Manurewa - Rewa Hard - for about 17 years of my life.  My family attended a church in Manurewa and still do.  My grandfather was a pastor for that church for a good 20 years.  I also went to Primary School in Manurewa, played Rugby League for the Manurewa Marlins and I'm really proud to be from Manurewa.  I'm a Samoan, my grandparents come from Samoa, my Mums family come from the villages of Vaimoso and Salelologa, Savai'i and my Dads parents come from Fasito'o uta and Fogapoa, Savai'i.…more

In 2011 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu received a six-month suspended ban from the Rugby World Cup for tweeting that top referee Nigel Owens was biased & racist as well as comparing the treatement of Samoa and other Tier 2 countries at the Cup to slavery and much more.

He explains his frustration with the biased policies of World Rugby to both Close Up (video above) and John Campbell (video below).

"I just want the next generation of Samoan rugby players to be given a level playing field, I want them to stop treating the tier-two teams like crap." - Eliota said in his interview with Close Up 

Sadly the issues Eliota raised in 2011 are still major talking points at this Rugby World Cup in 2019 - biased reffing against the Tier 2 teams in particular when playing Tier 1 teams and an obvious bias towards the Tier 2 teams giving them only three or four day breaks between matches when Tier 1 teams like the All Blacks have up to a week rest in between games.

Jope’s experience of growing up in a household facing domestic violence sparked an interest in gender and politics. His academic research is driven by first hand knowledge of how these social structures affect people’s lives every day.

His experience led him to rethink what it means to be a Fijian man in today’s society and to question the role and power that he has as a man in Fiji.  Jope’s talk invites us all to re-think the Fijian man.  Jope Tarai is a research student and teaching assistant at the University of the South Pacific (USP) who spent his early years growing up in the interior parts of Fiji before moving to Suva.

He is dedicated to research in areas of diplomacy, Pacific politics, youth development, social media and gender where he challenges the traditional structure and asks people to question the status quo. Jope attended Assemblies of God Primary School (A.O.G) and Stella Maris before moving to Marist Brothers High School (MBHS) before completing his tertiary studies at the University of the South Pacific (USP).

The pawpaw or papaya is reputed to carry the most health benefits of any fruit and grows in abundance around the Pacific Islands.

With a lot of hidden benefits for skin, health and hair, coupled with its deliciousness, pawpaw now ranks as one of the most beneficial gifts nature has blessed us with.

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So what are the health benefits of Pawpaw? 

One extremely important health benefit of Pawpaw is that pawpaw leaves juice is widely recognised as a natural cure for dengue fever which is very prevalent in the Pacific Islands.  The leaves have a mix of nutrients and organic compounds which help in increasing your platelet count. Papaya leaves also have a high level of vitamin C which stimulate the immune system.

All you need to do is crush the leaves and stain the juice from the crushed leaves.…more

The NRL share this heart-warming real-life story about Fijian Parramatta Eels rugby league player Maika Sivo and his father, Joeli.  It centres around the fact that Joeli Sivo has never seen his son play in the flesh.

Sivo senior has never left Fiji, nor does he own a passport.  Maika Sivo, who came from humble beginnings and only recently started playing rugby league for the first time four years ago, is now one of this season’s top try-scorers.

At UFC 243 Eugene Bareman & his team from City Kickboxing New Zealand will have 3 fighters facing off in the Octagon - 2 of them are the co-main event.  

NZ born Eugene is half Samoan/half Dutch and grew up in West Auckland. He has 2 other brothers & his sister, Sarai Bareman, is the Chief Womens Football Officer for FIFA & was recently named in Sportspro as one of the top 10 people on the planet who would have the greatest influence on sport in 2019!

Eugene first took over City Kickboxing Gym 11 years ago with K1 fighter Doug Viney (they bought the gym off the owner Duane Marshall) & now have 5 NZ based UFC fighters on their books Adesanya, Kai Kara France, Dan Hooker, Shane Young & Brad Riddell as well as King in the Ring champ Carlos Ulberg and Heavyweight boxers Hemi Ahio & Junior Fa.

As well as a coach he's still fighting himself and has had 48 fights across all the different disciplines & recently received a black belt in Atos Jiu-Jitsu.…more