The prizegiving evening for FIFO 2020 took place on Friday 7th February at the Maison de la Culture’s Grand Théâtre. The Grand Jury Prize was awarded to the film Ophir by Alexandre Berman and Olivier Poller. The winning film brings to the fore decolonisation and the...
One billion tons of rock was extracted and 0.6% was used. These are the staggering figures regarding the Panguna mine in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. The environment has been destroyed along with human lives. People have been humiliated, belittled and manipulated to accept the mine....
FIFO’s selection of films has, as always, shocked, amazed and delighted audiences, as well as made them cry and laugh. The films have called out to hearts and minds. FIFO also impacts the audiovisual economy with workshops, conferences, debates and the Pacific Television Conference. Like...
Several audiovisual professionals discussed social impact documentary during a round table on Wednesday morning at FIFO. Producers and directors described how their films served as tools to bring about change. Miriama Bono, chairwoman of AFIFO, announced that Good Pitch Tahiti will take place at FIFO...
On Monday evening the chairman of the FIFO jury, Éric Barbier, presented a premiere of his film Petit pays, at the Liberty cinema, as part of the festival. The audience filled three rooms in which screenings took place simultaneously. Everyone was moved by the power...
Lisa Taouma is a member of the jury at this 17th FIFO. She is the only woman on this jury and a director who knows the festival well. Last year she presented Marks of Mana, the first film dedicated to exclusively female tattooing in the...
Jacques Vernaudon, lecturer in linguistics at the University of French Polynesia, specialising in Oceanic languages, is a member of the FIFO jury for the first time. Audiovisual media was his first choice in terms of profession before changing direction to linguistics. He has always remained...
Éric Barbier is the chairman of the jury for the 17th FIFO. Accustomed to fiction, the director of Promise at Dawn, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Romain Gary, Éric Barbier takes his first trip to the Pacific. ‘I am a...
This is the story of a small island, Rapa Nui, that must strike the right balance between economic development and protecting its environment. This issue is represented by four people: Mama Piru who fights against waste, Mahani and Piru who are striving to live according...
Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and dozens of other digital platforms have shaken up the domain. They are currently at the heart of debates having revolutionised the audiovisual landscape. Pascal Le Chevalier held a captivating conference on this issue on Tuesday 3rd February in the Maison de...
All officials gathered in the main marquee on Tuesday morning for the formal opening of the 17th FIFO. For Estelle Berruyer, representative of the High Commissioner, the festival is an ‘adventure worth sharing’, for Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu, the films shown here also serve as ‘whistle-blowers’. The...
An evening of fiction to follow an afternoon of short documentaries: on Saturday 1st February, the room was packed once again for the 11th Fiction Night at the Grand Théâtre de la Culture. 11 high quality fiction films, lasting from 4 to 20 min, were...
After a week of sharing and discoveries the documentaries selected this year, the FIFO 2019 ended on February 10th 2018. The next edition of our festival –the 17th already ! – will take place from 1st to 9th February 2020 at Te Fare Tauhiti Nui – Maison...
Carl Aderlhod is chairman of the jury for FIFO 2019. We asked him a few questions about his first festival and visit to Oceania.
This 16th FIFO gave rise to much discussion thanks to a rich and varied programme. Large audiences attended the screenings, as well as the meetings organised with directors, workshops and evenings dedicated to shorts.
Meet the Executive is new for FIFO 2019 bringing broadcasters, producers and directors together. It is an important and essential event for presenting the editorial line of television channels and sharing various aspirations with local players.
FIFO has come to an end. The prize-giving evening for this 16th festival took place on Friday 8th February. The documentary Anote’s Arck was awarded the FIFO France Télévisions Main Prize. Patutiki, l’art du tatouage des îles Marquises won the public prize; three special jury prizes were presented. Let’s take a look at the winners of this special edition.
There is only one meeting like this in the region: the Oceanic Television Conference gathers the media from the Pacific during FIFO each year to learn and to get to know each other, as well as to share difficulties and innovative ideas. This 13th conference is optimistic – digital facilitates content sharing and relationships between different partners.
Good Pitch Pasifika was announced at FIFO 2018. This year it is starting to take shape and was presented at a conference on Tuesday 5th February, followed by an impact workshop to explain how this tool can help and play a part in the impact of a film.
Gender issues are often raised at FIFO. The characters, struggles, dreams and sufferings of transgender people are reflected in these films that touch the audience. The selected documentaries are therefore regularly awarded by the jury and are a hit with the public. Why does this...
We have the opportunity to understand a man’s path in the film Au nom du père, du fils et des esprits in the official competition at FIFO. Following his son, Emmanuel Tjibaou, we discover the different dimensions of this politician who marked the history of New Caledonia, but whose journey remains obscure. The film is also very topical raising fundamental questions at a time when Caledonians are on the brink of determining their future.
The Grand Theatre was full on Monday for an evening dedicated to short documentaries, Window on Shorts. For two hours, the audience journeyed to the four corners of Oceania, exploring at times under appreciated aspects of our huge region. The political situation in West Papua also left its mark on many.
The 16th International Documentary Film Festival of Oceania kicked off on Tuesday morning on the paepae a Hiro (bench) at the Maison de la culture. FIFO is the second largest cultural event of the year in French Polynesia, as vice-chairman Teva Rohfritsch pointed out, and its influence extends far beyond the limits of the fenua (island) enabling, in the words of Wallès Kotra, cofounder of the event, ‘this invisible continent to become visible’.
Preserving a ten-year tradition, Fiction Night opened FIFO 2019 on Saturday 2nd February. This is a fringe evening event where the audience journeyed into the world of Oceanic fiction and voted for their favourite film at the end of the evening.
Carl Arderlhod is chairman of the jury for the 16th FIFO. Historian and writer, he is taking on this role for the first time and is very much looking forward to this experience.