Award-winning NZ film inspires
Film producer Catherine Fitzgerald inspired an audience of students, tutors and enthusiasts with an account of her experience in producing The Orator.
A packed Lido theatre shared giggles and tears during a screening of The Orator (O le Tulafale) this morning as part of the Spark festival.
The Orator follows the trials and triumphs of Siali, a Samoan taro farmer who struggles as a little person to gain respect in his village.
The film won two awards at the Venice Film Festival in 2011 and was submitted for nomination byNew Zealandfor a 2012 Foreign Language Oscar.
The screening was part of a presentation by producer Catherine Fitzgerald who informed and inspired an audience of students, tutors and other film enthusiasts with an account of her experience in producing the film.
Fitzgerald has produced a number of international award-winning features and short films including Oscar-nominated short Two Cars, One Night, and Vincent Ward’s feature Rain of the Children.
Fitzgerald says The Orator was generally well received by the Samoan community despite the way parts of the film criticises elements of Samoan culture.
“They are extremely proud people and don’t usually talk about what’s going on.
“It raised a lot of questions for Samoan people.”
Fitzgerald went on to explain that the film, written and directed by first-time feature director Tusi Tamasese, was originally written in English, but later translated to Samoan as it better reflected the production’s culture and message.
“It would be completely crazy to have the characters speaking English to one another because they don’t. They speak Samoan. The language is really interesting.”
