{"id":51682,"date":"2025-12-22T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T01:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/?p=51682"},"modified":"2025-12-22T15:50:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T01:50:51","slug":"taualeoo-stephen-stehlin-we-must-support-each-other-and-value-our-cultures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/taualeoo-stephen-stehlin-we-must-support-each-other-and-value-our-cultures\/","title":{"rendered":"Taualeo\u2019o Stephen Stehlin: “We must support each other and value our cultures.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

FIFO 2025. Stephen Stehlin is the producer of Maisuka \u2013 Diabetes the Silent Killer<\/em>, a film screened out of competition at this year\u2019s festival. Stephen has been a pioneer in Pacific broadcasting for nearly 40 years with his production company, SunPix, and its flagship program, Tagata Pasifika<\/em>. This show has become a cultural reference that amplifies the voices of Indigenous and Pacific communities. His battle cry: transmission and giving visibility to the region’s communities.

Taualeo\u2019o Stephen Stehlin is a great sage. A regular at FIFO for 21 years, as usual, he approaches this festival with love, respect, and admiration. Indeed, Stephen is one of the first professional festivalgoers of the event. \u201cCreating a festival every year in a small country is an achievement that deserves to be celebrated,\u201d Stephen admires. He adds, \u201cAnd then, it\u2019s like coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pioneer of Pacific broadcasting for nearly 40 years, with his production company SunPix and its flagship program, Tagata Pasifika<\/em> in New Zealand, knows the fenua well. In his youth, he participated in a school exchange in Tahiti with Dr. Jean-Paul Theron. Since then, the two men have maintained a bond of brotherhood for 52 years. Naturally, the producer became the godfather of Laura Theron, the General Delegate of FIFO since 2024. \u201cI am in love with French Polynesia,\u201d he declares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the fenua is like his second home, this lover of raw fish has not forgotten where he comes from: Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud. The man with a heart of gold recalls his early career in New Zealand. \u201cWhen I was young, I didn\u2019t really know what to do with my life, but I was fortunate to be selected from many young people to work on M\u0101ori programs at TVNZ. Back then, I looked a bit like a M\u0101ori because my father is Samoan. So, I jumped at the opportunity to work on the only Pacific program that existed: Tagata Pasifika<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a dream opportunity that sometimes turned into a long struggle to make the show legitimate and a cultural reference today. \u201cWe must remember that Aotearoa is a M\u0101ori nation, but at the time, it was hardly visible. The Palagi \/ P\u0101keha \/ Popo\u00e0 controlled everything, and we weren\u2019t even represented on television. When Tagata Pasifika<\/em> hit the screen, there was an immediate connection with the Pacific peoples, and this relationship continues to this day. In the Anglo-Pacific world, our journalists and presenters, as well as the show itself, are very well-known. This recognition continues to surprise us,\u201d Stephen rejoices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After taking a well-deserved retirement last year, Stephen, as a reminder, points out, \u201cThere was a time when, in Aotearoa, the only stories told about M\u0101ori and Pacific Islanders were negative, and that still continues today. Our identity is rooted in the moana, the ocean that unites us. We must help each other and value our cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mission of visibility and transmission<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 40 years, the one who cherishes his island of Waiheke has defended the indigenous visibility of the Pacific by telling their stories. A hardworking individual, the most important thing for him is that people recognize “our place as a people of this region. Our ancestors made incredible journeys across the ocean; they were sophisticated navigators. The ocean does not separate us, it is what unites us, and that includes French Polynesia too!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Tagata Pasifika is now considered a cultural bridge, this collector of films, documentaries, and books humbly celebrates: “Today, it\u2019s less of a bridge than it used to be because we no longer need to justify ourselves to anyone. We celebrate our successes and the beauty of what we are.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has always driven him: showing the past to the new generation. “There\u2019s a M\u0101ori saying: ka mua, ka muri<\/em>, which means ‘moving forward by looking back.’ It reflects the idea that by looking at the past, we find the wisdom and direction for the future. Our mission is to ensure this transmission, especially through our elders, who hold the language and culture.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resilience, respect, and teamwork are the values he carries every day to achieve everything he undertakes and to change mindsets. To succeed, as a mantra, he repeats and shares this message with anyone who will listen: “Stay true to yourself. Do what\u2019s right. Love your neighbor \u2013 even when they drive you crazy.” (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he has announced his retirement from SunPix, the one who enjoys If It Be Your Will<\/em> by Leonard Cohen has new projects in mind. He is currently working on a documentary about two Samoan brothers who excel in the world of opera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while he\u2019s unsure whether this will be his last film, this lively person admits, with a cheeky grin, that he spends too much time watching Netflix with his husband because he’s too lazy to run marathons anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While waiting to return to his island near Auckland to tend to his French tomatoes, which he proudly claims, he is enjoying the Oceanian Documentary Film Festival and reminds everyone of its importance: “There is only one Pacific documentary festival, and it\u2019s called FIFO, right here!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny Hunter<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FIFO 2025. Stephen Stehlin is the producer of Maisuka \u2013 Diabetes the Silent Killer, a film screened out of competition at this year\u2019s festival. Stephen has been a pioneer in Pacific broadcasting for nearly 40 years with his production company, SunPix, and its flagship program, Tagata Pasifika. This show has become a cultural reference that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2241,"featured_media":49160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jet_sm_ready_style":"","_jet_sm_style":"","_jet_sm_controls_values":"","_jet_sm_fonts_collection":"","_jet_sm_fonts_links":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1276],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2025"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Stephen-Stehlin.jpg","cmb2":{"poster_feature_image":{"vid_m_player_background":"off","vid_m_poster_image":"","vid_m_poster_image_id":""},"gif_feature_image":{"vid_m_gif_image":"","vid_m_gif_image_id":""},"video_movie_settings":{"vid_m_director":"","vid_m_actor":"","vid_m_imdb_ratings":"","vid_m_amazon_associates":"","vid_m_vid_tmdb_movie":"","vid_m_vid_tmdb_tv_shows":"","vid_m_vid_tmdb_thumb":"backdrop_sizes"},"vid_ads_m_videoads_settings_post":{"vid_ads_m_video_ads":"","vid_ads_m_video_ads_type":"","vid_ads_m_group_google_ima":"","vid_ads_m_group_image":"","vid_ads_m_group_html5_video":"","vid_ads_m_group_html":"","vid_ads_m_vpaid_mode":"no","vid_ads_m_vast_preroll":"","vid_ads_m_vast_postroll":"","vid_ads_m_vast_pauseroll":"","vid_ads_m_vast_midroll":[{"vid_ads_m_vast_timer_seconds":"50"}],"vid_ads_m_group_dynamic":[{"vid_ads_m_dynamic_type":"image","vid_ads_m_dynamic_size_desktop":"336x280","vid_ads_m_dynamic_size_mobile":"300x250","vid_ads_m_dynamic_vertial_align":"bottom"}],"vid_ads_m_time_to_show_ads":"","vid_ads_m_time_skip_ads":"","vid_ads_m_time_to_hide_ads":""},"feature_image_settings":{"feature_image_position":""},"video_player_settings":{"single_video_style":"","video_player_position":"","vm_video_url_btn_choose":"","vm_video_url_btn_choose_id":"","vm_video_url":"","vm_video_ratio":"16:9","vm_video_ratio_mobile":"16:9","video_player_library":"","plyr_player":"","video_streaming":"","vm_video_shortcode":"","vm_video_timelapse":"","vm_media_subtitles":"","vm_media_sources":"","vid_vtt_preview":"off","vid_vtt_preview_vtt_file":"","vid_vtt_preview_vtt_file_id":"","vid_vtt_preview_sprite_image":"","vid_vtt_preview_sprite_image_id":"","vid_auto_play":"","vid_preview_mode":"","vm_screenshot_preview":"","vid_tags":"","vid_p_sync_playlist":"","vid_c_sync_channel":"","get_post_format":"","multiple_links_structure":"default","multi_links_title":"","original_video_title":"","vm_video_multi_links":"","vm_duration":"","vid_social_locker":"off","vid_locker_mode":"social","vid_social_locker_id":"","vid_social_email_locker_id":"","vid_social_signin_locker_id":"","sv_login_to_watch":"","vid_membership_action":"content-video","vm_video_trailer_url":"","vid_download_type":"free","vid_download_target":"download","vid_woo_product":"","vid_download_mode":"","vid_download_mode_trailer":"","vm_media_download":"","user_rating":"","user_rating_position":"","user_rating_mode":"","user_rating_multi_sets":"","ads_above_single_player":""},"video_auto_fetch_settings":{"vm_video_fetch":"on"},"video_fake_views_likes":{"vm_fake_views":"","vm_fake_likes":"","vm_fake_dislikes":""},"gallery_settings":{"gallery_position":""},"quote_settings":{"quote_position":""},"post_options":{"main_layout":"","main_logo":"","main_logo_id":"","main_logo_retina":"","main_logo_retina_id":"","main_logo_mobile":"","main_logo_mobile_id":"","main_logo_mobile_retina":"","main_logo_mobile_retina_id":"","sticky_logo":"","sticky_logo_id":"","sticky_logo_retina":"","sticky_logo_retina_id":"","main_nav_layout":"","header_background":"","theme_sidebar":"","single_post_comment_type":"","theme_background":""}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2241"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51683,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51682\/revisions\/51683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fifotahiti.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}