For a long time it was only a dream, but on the 8th October Sonja, Louie and I start a journey to New Zealand and Tonga to finish a documentary based around two remarkable people, a healer and a psychiatrist. I have been working with and filming them since my doctoral research from 1998-2000 and… Read More
How wonderful it was when Tinitini’s brother gave me a DVD with video footage of a Tinitini concert in 1988. I had filed it away for years imagining making another short documentary incorporating some footage. Meanwhile no-one could see it. A crime for those interested in Tongan comedy and remembering back to 1988. We have… Read More
I was in a museum in Gothenburg, Sweden. But for a long meaningful moment I was brought back to Tonga, through the powerful idea of comedy serving the same purpose worldwide and in different historical times. Read More
Archival recordings of Tonga are vital resources for further research and teaching. Experience a seminar at Atenisi in 1998 at a very particular time in its history and get a real taste of Professor Futa Helu’s wide intellectual interests.
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A film about comedy in Tonga. Read More
So after many months of prevaricating, religiously checking wordpress.com for new themes and imagining how the new website would be I have finally jumped in and got a new theme and started the process of building a new website on the value of video. Inspired by what I learnt through videoing in Tonga and strongly… Read More
Explore the value of video for anthropology through videos made on Tongan comedy, volunteering in a Swedish intentional community and much more. Read More
It’s been a long time since I last posted on this blog. I’ve been working hard to process and start to edit some of the material for the latest documentary on Tonga, which focuses on the healer, Emeline Lolohea, the psychiatrist, Dr Mapa Puloka, and my relationship with both. I’ve been really excited to see… Read More
A great TED talk that relates really strongly to the power of comedy in Tonga.
A big thank you to Malia Talakia for organising a twin screening of ‘Fun(d)raising’ and ‘My Lost Kainga’ at UNITEC on the 6th September as part of the inaugural Tongan Language Week. Read press announcement here and here. Learn more about Tongan Language Week here.
Potolahi Productions