For generations, one family on the island of Rurutu has carried the shame of a colonial-era story: that of a disgraced ancestor exiled and devoured by cannibals.
Defying this inherited stigma, Silifu, an old Polynesian woman, embarks on a thirty-year quest across the Pacific—digging through archives, confronting oral histories,
and questioning the narratives imposed by her contemporaries and by so-called experts—to reclaim her ancestor’s erased identity.
Her journey reveals not only a forgotten royal lineage but also the profound power of challenging inherited narratives, asking who truly holds the pen that writes history.
Production team: South Fiction – French Polynesia
Film status: In production
Format: French, English, Rurutu, Tahitian
For generations, a family from the island of Rurutu has carried the weight of a shame inherited from the colonial era: that of an ancestor who fell into disgrace, was exiled, and was then devoured by cannibals.
Defying this stigma, Silifu, an elderly Polynesian woman, embarks on a thirty-year quest across the Pacific.
By combing through archives, confronting oral traditions, and questioning the discourses of his contemporaries and experts,
She seeks to restore the erased identity of her grandfather. Her journey reveals not only a forgotten royal lineage, but also the profound power of questioning narrative inheritances, thus posing the fundamental question: who actually holds the pen that writes history?
French 
English