2022 Pasifika Film Festival – Waikiki, Neverland, The Alexander Ball, Urchin & Untitled

Full transcript of 2022 Pasifika Film Festival – Waikiki, Neverland, The Alexander Ball, Urchin & Untitled.

0:00KT: It's another week in the For Your Reference household, but it is the very first time, Oti, that we can say we're an award nominated podcast. Brown, brown, brown, brown shouts to our friends and lovers that follow us on socials or also on our newsletter. But I also don't blame you if you don't follow us on the socials, uh, Loven Splu to the team at the Australian Podcast Awards. Uh, we put our little podcast on and we got nominated.

0:29Oti: Mm-hmm.

0:30KT: Best thoughts and culture. Which one are you?

0:35Oti: Guess.

0:37KT: This has been an unfuck believable year. Thank you so much, friends and lovers for joining us on this wild ride. Um, it's been so much fun and we're excited to see what will come of the podcast. Let's get on with the show. Malo Le, friends and lovers, welcome back to the For Your Reference Podcast. You got your host KT.

1:15Oti: and Oti.

1:16KT: welcome to Reference Max, where I talk a lot about the films that were screened as part of the 2022 Pasifika Film Festival,

1:25Oti: Noise,

1:25KT: fitting it all in into a multi slushy, non spoiler review episode. Wow. How are you feeling, Oti?

1:37Oti: and popped, bro.

1:39KT: Um, aside from the, every so often mentioning that we were one of the first people in the world to watch Parasite as a part of the Sydney Film Festival, this is really the first time we're covering a film festival on the podcast.

1:52Oti: It is,

1:53KT: it's very exciting. Uh, shout outs to Eli, Nora Mafi, as well as Gull Fa New looking after and running the whole show for the Pasifika Film Festival.

2:05KT: There's a lot of exciting films and some of them will be available to watch. friends and lovers. Uh, and I definitely want to talk and highlight, um, the ones that I was able to catch over the weekend as well. Um, It was really cool. Like if I can just talk generally about the experience. Um, you know, I've talked many times on the podcast how it would be cool, you know, to see the creativity, but also I will try and find resonance in all sort of world cinema. Right? But it just hits differently, Oti.

2:40KT: Wow. And also nice, also nice to meet, um, a lot of Pasifika creatives in Australia specifically. And before we even get to, you know, the films and the shorts that, um, I watch as a part of the film festival, Oti, you can actually chime in on this one.

2:57Oti: Oh,

2:58KT: Uh, so shout outs. To Savelina Vaka'uta. I met her on the opening screening of the Pasifika Film Festival and she has a short called Huhu'a Niu, which essentially means like coconut water, and you know, I was very excited to check out the show. It's on Vimeo. We'll put the links in the show notes, friends and lovers. This was a couple of years before The Panthers show, which we do have an episode on Friends and.

3:27KT: Feel free to go and check that out. But I wanna talk a little bit, cuz you had a chance to experience this short. I wanna talk a little bit about it. How did you feel about the overall short?

3:38Oti: I really enjoyed it. I think getting to see the experience and I think the overlay or the use of archival footage sort of elevated and explained things so easily. You know, it was such a useful tool in how it was used and it just contrasted everything that was happening during that period. Um, I think it was very, it was short nicely as well.

4:01KT: Yeah, absolutely. Um, I a hundred percent agree with you about the archival footage. You know, we even talked about it in The Panthers, um, review episode because it is a new history to a lot of people, even to myself as a part of the Pasifika. You know, it's important to bring your audience along with the journey, and I really love the way that Sav did it in the short, and obviously being Tongan, but I'm very.

4:26KT: Like minus beginner level, Tongan. But even I understood what they were saying without the subtitles. Like, it, it felt real because it was real and I absolutely loved it right off the top. Sav, you're welcome. . Um, we'll definitely put it in the show notes and, um, I'm very excited. Just generally, it was very emotional watching the credits for like the Pasifika Australia shorts because you saw so many names that were familiar.

4:54KT: And it's a network and you see, you know, so I'm very, very excited in general, um, for a lot of what I've watched. But definitely, um, off the top of it, make sure you guys check out Huhu'a Niu. That's available on Vimeo. But let's get into the opening night or the Pasifika Film Festival, Oti. I am very excited to talk about this film.

5:15KT: I was talking to Ellie, um, and it sounds as if this film. Film is named Waikiki. It actually opened, uh, on the closing night of the Hawaii International Film Festival in November of 2020.

5:30Oti: Right.

5:31KT: Cause I think to a lot of us that wear no pants and sit in front of our TV, like there's a lot of work that goes into making films and distributing it and, you know, making sure that it gets audiences.

5:42KT: So, as far as I understand Waikiki is going to be, um, you know, screened around and eventually be on screening or available on vod, but currently at the moment it won't be available. But what, what, what I will say, Oti, is the moment it's available for everyone to be able to buy rent, et cetera, we are absolutely fucking covering this.

6:06Oti: comfortable. A hundred percent.

6:07KT: Who, let's get into general stats and information in regards to writing and directing. We have Christopher Kahunahana. In regards to producers. We have Hula Girl Productions, Island Film Group, Kinetic Productions, Waikiki, the film In way of Cast. We have Peter Shinkoda, Danielle Zalopany, as well as Jason Quinn. And Oti. Oti, Oti, Oti. Right off the top, I have to tell you, Danielle is one to.

6:34Oti: Really? She

6:35KT: was so fucking magnetic in this film. Um, you know, no spoilers. No spoilers, no spoilers. Uh, if you read the description of this film, it talks about addressing, you know, the harsh reality that a lot of native Hawaiians face.

6:52Oti: Yeah, and I know this is a topic that's really close to your heart, something that we've talked about endlessly

6:58KT: and I feel like racist ass me Gibbs. I just wanna, I just wanna splu all over. I just wanna talk about it, but I can't spoil the film. But I, yeah, it's absolutely, you know, an issue that's very important to me. Unfuck, unfortunately, and a mystery to everyone. Aside from people wanting their holiday houses and their little getaways to Hawaii, it is still a US territory unfuck. Unfortunately, what that means is, you know, blood, the blood quantum sort of rules that apply to Native Americans, for example, flows on into native Hawaiians.

7:35KT: So that means the harsh reality for a lot of native Hawaiians right now is even if they are Hawaiian, if they're not over 50% blood quantum, for example, they won't be able to own any sort of property, or, sorry, lease any property for $1 for 99

7:53Oti: So explain to us mere mortals what Blood Quantum is.

7:57KT: I will come down from Olympus

8:00Oti: Descend, my Bra

8:02KT: Um, so, so, so those that might be familiar with the One Drop Rule, again, we are going back to Great Aim America. Um, you know, and we, we even talked about it, um, when we were talking about the social dilemma, shout shoutouts to the book Eli podcast, where we talked about that, uh, test specifically. Um, but it's, it's that whole notion.

8:24KT: Institutionalized structured notion of if you have one drop of black blood, you're black. Which obviously helps to strip a lot of the rights, especially back in the time of slavery or in the time of, of black people becoming free, it was a continued sort of stronghold, So that's the one drop rule that you have in America.

8:46KT: Uh, I also learn about like the Creole class, uh, as well in the south, but that's, that's a story for another day. Um, so Blood Quantum still finds a way to oppress native people, but it does it in the opposite way. So essentially only those that. In quotes, very disgustingly, but in quotes, true natives are those that get to benefit or be legitimized by the community, right?

9:15Oti: Oh. So

9:16KT: if you are, if you are not above 50%, or in some, some, some nations, it's matrilineal. So if your mother is native, then you're good to go. Um, if your mother isn't, then sometimes you can be enrolled.

9:28Oti: Oh,

9:29KT: For example, um, and I guess this is just a little spotlight shout outs to Ian from Native Film Talk because, um, when we get some time, I definitely wanna cover the film Blood Quantum and have him on the podcast. And he can tell me how wrong I am, But going back to the film of Waikiki, um, you know, there's a lot of pain and there's a lot of, uh, colonial strong holds the ramifications of, um, that is being sustained in Hawaii. You know, like rental cars are like $300.

10:04Oti: a fuck.

10:04KT: Yeah. And obviously that's, that's in response to a lot of the demand, people wanting to giggle gaggle in the sun while native Hawaiians are struggling.

10:12Oti: Mm.

10:13KT: Right? So what I absolutely, absolutely love about this film Waikiki is because it absolutely fucking goes there. Wow.

10:22Oti: Wow. It lays it all out.

10:24KT: The cast and crew put their whole foot, put their whole pussy into this film.

10:29Oti: room. Wow.

10:30KT: And I, I absolutely love it. Again, if you've read the description, you understand the nuances in which I am speaking about. Obviously we're talking about colonization and there's some very, there's some very tenuous sort of, uh, themes that I cannot wait, Oti, once you are able to and everyone else is able to watch the film, I definitely want to pick on those because it, it reminded me of watching. You know, like, I was like, I'm ready.

11:01KT: I'm ready to overwhelm you and the taxi driver, like, I'm just ready to talk about this film. Um, I would also say that the production was very slick on this film. The cinematography was very beautiful. The choice of direction was to high impact.

11:18Oti: Oh.

11:20KT: You know, when you, when you think about the postcard, when you think about, you know, leveraging the aloha, the, the positive, you know, creating like native Hawaiians as a caricature for your enjoyment. Ooh, Oti.

11:34Oti: Wow. Seems like they delved into some really serious topics in there. Um, did you go into this film thinking that it was going to be that deep,

11:42KT: uh, based on the description. Yes. The trailer, I wasn't necessarily sure what, how far it would dig deep into. It was definitely a heavy film and what I thought was interesting coming out of this was really fun as well. Cuz when you watch films like as part of a film festival, usually people are just like mingling outside and they're discussing it. And what was surprising to me was a lot of people were like, It was such a heavy and confronting film.

12:12Oti: Oh yeah. When it goes to watch some serious stuff, especially let's say in the cinema, it's, for me personally, it's sort of weird because I can't, she said, oh, she said will always be there in my head because it was such a wild experience for me.

12:30Oti: I didn't think, I didn't even know what. Based on the title alone, I pretty much figure what it's going to be about. And you told me it's gonna be about Harvey once and I was like, enough said. But it just created such a, the, that atmosphere in itself. Yeah. It's something that I'll never forget, you know, I couldn't even eat my popcorn. It was that sort of thing.

12:48KT: You have a play-by-play of meat I think quietly. But you

12:52KT: was loudly in my popcorn. Like I feel like you can recount that more than the actual film

12:58Oti: if you are the only one crunching in the cinema.

13:03KT: You gotta find joy. You gotta find joy.

13:06Oti: No one else was crunching bro.

13:10KT: I crunched through the pain. Friends and lovers.

13:14Oti: Yeah. Yeah. It was wild. And I know that it sort of elevated a bit because it's, it's sort of weird because when you, if I'm watching it at home, I could, I could sort of escape into myself and you know, it's, take it all in and I'll be sad in the moment or whatnot, but it being innocent in my, it sort of expounds the emotion 10 folds.

13:35KT: Um, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I absolutely agree. Um, it was interesting in the comment about the film, cuz to me I absolutely loved it, but I'm always ready to go there. You know, I'm, I'm always ready to dig that little bit deeper on say it

13:49Oti: Yeah. And it sounds like, based on what I'm hearing, that they didn't push their foot on anything. No. Uh, they spoke with their chest, which is all I ever advocate for. Yeah. If you go there, go there a hundred percent. Yeah. And that's good to know that it's something that we, I can actually look forward to. Then

14:05KT: The only thing I would say is there wasn't a lot of levity in this film.

14:10Oti: Like we said at the start, levity is for pussies, bro

14:17KT: But I do appreciate, um, levity. However, this film is very, is very exciting and, you know, perhaps I need to dig deeper into Hawaiian cinema. But there are two things I really, really loved about this film overall. The first is shifting the perception. Native Hawaiian people to 2022, you know, it, it's not just a mystical, like ancient sort of culture. Hawaiians exist today.

14:49Oti: Right?

14:50KT: And secondly, the shattering of that postcard idyllic. Um, you know, you can, you can treat us like shit, and we're just gonna smile in your face sort of narrative.

15:02Oti: As a black person who, let's say travels, I usually felt very awkward. Mm-hmm. If I, let's say, go to a land with native people and they like sort of have this, I wouldn't say subservient, It feels like that. Right. And I'm like, so you

15:20KT: like, you don't have to do that for us.

15:21Oti: on now. Oh, chill out

15:22KT: Yeah. it's sad.

15:25Oti: That's not for me. That's not for me. You know? And it, it's something that is always different of my mind when I travel, because I don't want them to feel like they have to perform.

15:37KT: Yeah, exactly. I absolutely agree with you, Oti. Like, I don't know, like I guess if you think it's Cutesie, then I don't know. I don't think I can s. I don't think you can sit with me. However, um, you know, like, like we said in our King Kong episode, as you, a black man, as me, a brown woman, there are some layers of our identity that we can't and won't take off for the comfortability of other people.

16:05Oti: Mm. But

16:07KT: when it comes to tourism, it becomes a whole nother juggernaut of intricacies.

16:13Oti: Yeah,

16:14KT: But Waikiki, friends and lovers, uh, even the song, the lyrics in the song of Waikiki, it again, it's, you know, it sounds like such a, um, you know, peaceful, inviting sort of song. But if you actually listen to the lyrics, gonna fuck shit up.

16:32Oti: Oh, does it give the, Gimme Hope Jo'anna sort of vibe.

16:35KT: Jesus. Yeah. See, without even trying, hire us, Ryan Coogler. We know how to pit black and brown people against each other. Let's move on. Uh, I'm going to finish off with the feature film. So what we're going to get into was the shorts by Pasifika Australian filmmakers. Uh, Fia has made an appearance on the podcast. We recently did an episode reviewing Handel Harris and the team's, uh, season one of

17:08Oti: Mm-hmm.

17:09KT: Fia was in there, and I also had the opportunity to meet him.

17:12Oti: Nice.

17:13KT: I know it's, it's very cute, but it's very awkward for me. That exists 99% on the. Uh, so we're talking about Urchin. If you're familiar with Fia's work, um, you know, he's also got Deity and Parramatta. And as far as I understand, Deity, Parramatta, as well as Urchin were filmed at the same time. Oh. Um, he also had a GoFundMe, which I think has been closed now, um, called Polynesia, and it is about blackbirding, Oti

17:41Oti: oh,

17:41KT: because spoiler alert, friends and lovers, when they decided to end black slavery, they went and picked up brown. I've got a lot to say.

17:51Oti: Yeah, that was just one of a laughter there.

17:54KT: Well, I'm not coming for you. If anything, I'm coming for Everett Ross. Wow. Uh, director, writer, Taofia Pelesasa, producers, elora, mal as well as fi in way of cast we have Moni, Brendan, ta, as well as Rita vi. And I met Rosie.

18:14Oti: Oh, look at you name drop. in.

18:17KT: It's kind of awkward because they're like, I'm a filmmaker, I'm a writer. I'm like, I'm a podcast

18:22Oti: Actually, I have a podcast. I have podcast

18:26KT: Um, Urchin, also Ed or screened in the Hawaii International Film Festival of 2021. Good, which was very exciting. So essentially, this short is very interesting. Right off the bat I gotta appraise the team on the slick cinematography and the directing in this film, in this short film, uh, it follows, Some, some young men that are out to have some fun, right?

18:53KT: Uh, and it, it, it documents, you know, their night out. So you have, you know, the protagonist who has two brothers. One of them is the well to do brother that understands obligation and expectation. And then you have another brother that's a little bit of a ratbag. A little bit of a rascal. Out here in these proverbial streets, and without giving any sort of spoiler, they find themselves in a qualm. In a quarrel, in a quandary.

19:25Oti: Oh,

19:26KT: Where they have to band together as brothers and find a way to come together again.

19:32Oti: Okay. That sounds interesting.

19:33KT: So you've, so we've watched Fia's work before. We've watched Deity, we've watched Parramatta. Based on that description, how do you think it fares?

19:43Oti: I think I've watch the Par. I was like, yeah, I'm in improv. Yeah. Um, so I could expect that this would be of a sim similar caliber.

19:51KT: and I think, um, what's also cool as well, shout Sav Sav did the sound on Urchin and for a lot of Fia's projects as well. Again, it's so great. It's so great to hear the community, community,

20:04Oti: Mm.

20:04KT: um, it like, it's so effortless. I, you know, we, we talk about it a lot, but sometimes you just need to show it. If you're about it, you're about it. And it will show on.

20:15Oti: Yeah.

20:15KT: I don't know if this is a spoiler, but there was some primo, primo lines, uh, in this particular short

20:22Oti: Oh, yeah.

20:23KT: Uh, well, it was used in effect of criminal activity, but there was a quote saying, ain't nothing stolen on stolen land.

20:32Oti: Oh, facts,

20:35KT: Friends and lovers contact me for the writing of the screenplay Purge, KT edition.

20:40Oti: Ooh.

20:41KT: And there was also another line as well. Um, I don't think this is spoiling it, but you know, so there's a possibility of stealing a car. Um, and there was a sentiment, there was a line about like, you know, what are you also, what are you doing? It's like, I'm doing what they expect me to do.

20:59Oti: Nice

21:02KT: And, and, and in, in that sentiment, you wrapped it all up, Oti.

21:06Oti: Yeah. Like what can you say to that?

21:09KT: Well, Uh, moving along, we have Untitled: A Day in the Life Of, we have Gabriel Faatau'uu-Satiu and I met him.

21:19Oti: Oh,

21:20KT: I met Gabriel as well. Producers. We have Elora, Malfa, Lawrence Ola, editor, Darren Baker, sound composer slash score. We have Andrew F Cast Lan, who was in an episode of Redfern Now. Mm. He was the priest of nasty. He's also been in a lot of roles as well, friends and lovers, Tom Misa, RVA

21:44KT: Lai, as well as Lawrence Ola. So this was, I really, really enjoyed, I enjoyed everything throughout, um, the festival. But I really, really enjoyed this short, um, essentially you had about like five or six characters, people, personas, um, that are just talking about their general sort of experiences.

22:06KT: You know, with um, Tom's character, it was just ordering a coffee and seeing the gold lima, like the tattoo and, you know, Wondering whether they're going to be asked what nationality they are. Um, with Roen it was about like applying for a job and the intricacies of that and the expectations, or, you know, what's perceived to be desirable as an island woman, for example.

22:31KT: Um, Lawrence had an interesting sort of, You know, a compilation of thoughts. And Lonnie as well as Rita was more about getting casted, right? So Rosie's, uh, was more about getting called to be the lead singer, but once she got there, they decided to make her in the choir with the other Pasifika.

22:56Oti: Oh

22:57KT: Yeah, so it, so with that as well as Lonnie, um, Lonnie was there with his full chest and I was absolutely there for it, you know, um, I feel like it might have been head high.

23:10KT: Um, it, it was some sort of Pasifika review that we did. It wasn't The Panthers, but there was a sentiment that I shared on this podcast of, or it might have even been our Taika Waititi. Um, where because we look ambiguous, like I'm talking about Maori and Pasifika people, because we look ambiguous on like world cinema, we just get casted into a lot of like sci-fi roles.

23:34KT: Unless you're Cliff Curtis and you play a Mexican in Training Day. I'm here to fight about miscasting, but don't come for, for Cliff Curtis. All I have is kisses for that man.

23:45Oti: Wow.

23:47KT: Um, but the big, for me, the big takeaway for, you know, Lonnie's, um, you know, focus for Untitled was tokenism.

23:57Oti: Yeah.

23:58KT: Was representation, but more so tokenism because that's kind of the next level boss that we're talking about. You know, Lonnie was talking about, um, you know, you say this role is for everyone, anyone can take this role, but he said, Anglo-Saxon, I'm gonna say white. It's the same white characters that you see casted in all of these Australian. So why do you say go for it, but I'm never up for it. Can we talk about it? Can we? We can.

24:29Oti: that's interesting. Um, so do we get some sort of resolution around that or is it just more laying out all the issues that we face? Is there like a resolution to each individual character and what the problems they face?

24:43KT: well, I think it's a hard question to answer because like I mentioned on The Panthers episode, you know what, whatever the story is in regards to Pasifika storytelling is what the story is, right? However, and it's, I'm mostly talking about black cinema. We have like decades worth of quality, right?

25:01KT: Mm-hmm. So you kind of need to come. Like, even though it's a relatively new, um, sort of industry, people associated with quality, right? So it's not, it's not just representation because it, it's great to see like my, my brown kin, however, we need to have a story. We need to have the resonance, we need to have characters there.

25:24KT: Right. And I think it's, it's hard to have this conversation succinctly because even a lot of the sentiments and the film, um, maker Q and A that we had after the shorts. You know, there was that general sort of understanding that New Zealand is years and years and years and years. In regards to the available funding, in regards to turning on a screen and randomly seeing brown people for no reason, right? And even then, that representation is very, very young in comparison to black cinema, for example.

25:56KT: So you see what I'm saying? And now we're in Australia, right? And I, I, I talked about it recently and I think it was in Sis, you know, Deb Mailman, intergalactic treasure in all of our heart chambers. Like it had to go through the First Nations budget, you know what I mean? Like that's the country we live in when we have tried and true superstars that still need to go through that diversity bucket.

26:19Oti: Yeah.

26:19KT: Right. So, you know, 10 toes down. Give me the address I'm pulling up and we are fighting.

26:25Oti: that's a fight. I'll join.

26:27KT: Yeah, just make sure on the right side of history, Oti. I don't need that energy. Okay. Um, I wanna end talking about Untitled and giving a shout outs to Big six 80. Yes. 6 85 shout outs to all our, um, Hummel friends and lovers. Are you still celebrating? We hope you're well and you're staying hydrated.

26:50Oti: Mm.

26:50KT: Mm. So in Untitled, he had one of the most powerful fucking moving poems I've heard in a long time, and it's called Blackbird. Um, Gabriel did say that there are full monologues of all of the characters and they're just trying to figure out how they wanna. All of them, but man, like I felt everything I needed to Just beautiful there. There was a line there about, you know, removing the shackles because my truth is the key bra man. Abso absolutely all the way in. Say it, you know where else I am. All the way in

27:29Oti: Mm-hmm.

27:30KT: The Alexander Ball. Tens, tens, tens across the board, Oti. Woo woo. This documentary short is available in Australia on SBS. Right.

27:40Oti: Nice.

27:41KT: It's also doing screenings all around the country.

27:44Oti: Mm-hmm.

27:45KT: and even overseas Soon.

27:47Oti: Oh,

27:47KT: Yes. Let's get into general stats and information. Director, we have Jessica Magro and Jessica Magro is also assistant producer for Bluey.

27:58Oti: Hey,

27:59KT: congratulations, because Bluey just won a b.

28:03Oti: Nice.

28:03KT: Take that, Peaky Blinders, I'm sure Peaky Blinders have won bs. I'm just being facetious. Uh, in regards to producers, we have Rebecca Barry, Karina Holden, as well as Jessica Magro. Cast, Ella Ganza.

28:21Oti: Whoa.

28:22KT: I also met Aand. Did you? I did. And I, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love

28:29Oti: look at you blushing over here,

28:33KT: And, um, surprised to no one. I got emotional maybe three times watching this short.

28:38Oti: Of course he did.

28:40KT: Okay, so the Alexander Ball is talking about the ball. When we talk about ball, we're talking about the ballroom scene.

28:48KT: Mm-hmm. In Meanjin, otherwise known as Brisbane, Meanjin. Uh, and it follows the lead up to the Alexander Ball and I absolutely, absolutely. I keep saying everything was my fucking highlight, but I really, really, This short. The reason why I love this short, and I was, I was having, I was having a little Kiki, I was having a little giggle gaggle with Ella because I was praising the, there was a lot of information in regards to the ballroom scene, how it talks about black and brown trans sisters in the.

29:24Oti: Yeah.

29:24KT: That felt, um, you know, discriminated against inside of the queer community, right? It's not just Dave Chappelle friends and lovers. There is a hierarchy in the queer community.

29:33Oti: Mm-hmm.

29:34KT: And I love that the information was being, you know, um, incorporated into the short as well as, you know, seeing the creation and the lead up to the ball.

29:46KT: And I was talking to Ella about it, um, and I was saying it was so important and it was so great. And even Ella as well talks a lot about, you know, our in. Uh, friends and lovers as well and how important it is to acknowledge that we are on unceded land. And I was talking to Ella about it and you know, Ella's like, of course, you know, it's so important.

30:07KT: Um, you know, especially talking about the ballroom scene and the US. Um, also getting the blessing, um, from the US as well because that's where it came from. And I and I was. Told that to people in hip hop. When? When, when? When I can speak freely, friends and lovers, you better get your DMs ready. You, you better. You better lubricate them. You better stretch them because once I'm ready to speak freely with you or we're gonna have a good time.

30:39Oti: Yeah. Or just carry a gag.

30:41KT: just good. If you're nasty. If you wanna deepen the experience, Oti. I loved it. I loved it, loved it, loved it. I will strongly recommend, I'll see if there's a way that globally, um, it's going to be screened or available to buy slash rent. Um, but it, it feels so good and what I really love about it as well, um, we see our trans brother and sisters, um, in the Pasifika community and they talk about how important it.

31:12KT: To have that queer family, because fucking, unfortunately, you can't blame colonization, but at some fucking point, put, put your own pants on and own it. Right? Yeah. Um, and there was a lot of heartbreak in there. I also felt a bit triggered because, because someone mentioned that the first time they saw, you know, um, brown people out and, and, and doing the catwalk, they're like, oh, I've seen that on drag.

31:42KT: Oh, but there's something that's so beautiful about being able to, you know, just allow people to tell their own stories, but not just that, to bask in the fucking glory in being who you are with your whole chest.

31:57Oti: There's nothing better than feeling like you belong to part of something, you know? And you could see yourself and just be yourself as well.

32:06KT: I loved it. I loved it. It was interesting cuz in the Q and A, there was a question asked of how did this all come about? And Ella was talking about her trepidation in even documenting, you know, the, the House of Alexander because of the potential sort of portrayal. Because while, um, You know, while the crew is Pasifika, they didn't know how much that would extend or that tax would extend to Pasifika queer people, especially trans.

32:37KT: Yeah. So, man, I felt it. I just like, wow, wow, wow. If I didn't have a soul, I grew one by the weekend, Oti.

32:46Oti: It's really good to see that you got really emotional and it got to you and you had moments of, of resonance. Mm-hmm. Um, it's interesting because I want to go watch this and bask in its glory and also I'll be just screaming Ganza throughout the whole night.

33:06KT: I love it. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. Um, thank you friends and lovers for joining us. Uh, we're going to finish off with the closing night of the Pasifika Film Festival, and this was a feature film.

33:18Oti: Mm-hmm.

33:19KT: Written and directed by Herbert Leota.

33:21Oti: Mm-hmm.

33:22KT: Producer of Loki. In regards to the cast, we have Keanu Falola, as well as B Boy Hooligan, skinny and Span,

33:30Oti: Hey,

33:31KT: um, So Neverland did initially premiere earlier this year and it did screen again for the closing night of the 2022 Pasifika Film Festival was also the first since 20. As well, um, in person rather, uh, Neverland should be available to stream online from December 1st. So if you got the time, friends and lovers watch it because I got a lot to talk about.

33:57Oti: Yeah. Or make the time.

33:59KT: Make time. Uh, how do we, how do we start this off? Uh, generally I loved it. The filming of Neverland was a.

34:08Oti: Nice.

34:08KT: And it was interesting because in the Q and A with Herbert, he talked about how this was his first, not a short, he did a feature film in like a couple of months time.

34:18Oti: Oh, Wow. So, so give us a bit of a synopsis of what Neverland is.

34:23KT: You know, I don't like a synopsis. I'm not into synopsis. Full play.

34:27KT: Uh, so I guess the best way to describe this film is it sits nicely in the crime drug game sort of genre. So, you know, if we talk about, like globally, we're talking about Top Boy, we're talking about Snowfall, um, maybe even Boyz n the Hood, you know, thematically, cinematically, you know, Herbert talked about. Um, he does a lot of directing for music videos as well. So, yeah. So you're feeling Belly with Hype Williams.

34:59Oti: Wow.

35:01KT: Great film,

35:02Oti: great, great, great cinematography,

35:05KT: great cinematography. Um, but when you think about the drug game and or even like Kin, right? Um, even Drug King with our daddy Song Kang-ho in Korea, you know, like there's, there's, there's so much, um, in regards to offering 4 Blocks.

35:23KT: Yeah. The ADEs, you know, um, there's so many offerings. Gomorrah, I gotta stop now. Um, but you can see friends and lovers. Like I, I just was able to rattle off so many drug game, um, sort of TV shows and films and, you know, I, I guess you could say we are partial to that genre. So what was really interesting about this film is you could see the influences.

35:48KT: You could see the nuances. You could see how in many instances it could go toe to toe with what's currently out there, but it had a very local Australian feel to it.

36:00Oti: Oh, that's, that's intriguing.

36:02KT: It was interesting, you know, um, even like, I'll go back into the film, but even having discussions after the film, there was a couple of people that were like, oh, you know, I, I'm not sure about, you know, demonstrating that and that sort of thing. Friends and lovers, I say everyone gets a chance at the drug game and in many other cases, I think it's even Colombia where, you know, even like the coffee plant is more expensive to harvest, right?

36:29KT: So like I'm not here to criminalize that criminal sort of activity. That's just not my jab.

36:36Oti: So when you said they're not foreseeing it, as in they don't

36:40KT: they're not for it, is what I'm saying.

36:42Oti: Oh, right. All right. For it in terms of seeing it on screen or for it in terms of making it legal and some shit.

36:49KT: No, I think it's just seeing it on screen. Perhaps it speaks to, I don't know, encouraging that sort of activity.

36:57Oti: Ah.

36:58KT: Which is very interesting cause, cause for me, I'm not about that. I'm about let's shift focus. How many sort of, um, services are provided from the government for all of the community services that are provided. Are they funded? Are these young people being set up to succeed or they being set up to fail? That's why I'm always KT furious with my hotel hat.

37:18Oti: Yeah.

37:19KT: Because that's how, that's how they want us to be, you know? Mm-hmm. So, you know, it was interesting cuz even in the q and a, Herbert was talking about, you know, how, you know there are people in the cast that are currently locked up at the moment,

37:31Oti: them,

37:32KT: but that's not a fucking surprise. Like if you're about that life, you're about that life, right? So I, I don't know. Or maybe it's just, it feels too close to home. I would question it if you watch shit like Top Boy, like, or if you watch like Snowfall or even Breaking Bad, I would question if there is any sort of uncomfortability with Brown sort of portrayals in the drug game.

37:54Oti: Or maybe it's more seeing you, you know, someone that looks like you on screen, partaking on it, you know, you're like, you're so used to seeing black people, uh, in the drug game and sort of gangsters portrayal. You know, it's sort of the mono monotone sort of view of so many decades of how black people have being portrayed. You know,

38:12KT: Well, when you watch Kin, the Irish people didn't do it very well.

38:16Oti: Maybe that's how true. True.

38:24KT: but I, I guess the thing that I wanna say is as well, I don't necessarily have a lot of experiences, you know, and good luck friends and lovers trying to get a sound bite to incriminate me. But, you know, there are certain life experiences that I will never understand and I have absolutely not experienced. But you know what, Oti? I give my fam space.

38:45Oti: Yeah, man. Who are you to judge?

38:48KT: Yeah, I give space for experiences that I never have or perhaps never will experience because when you talk about people's life fucking story, it's exactly that. It's their life story, whatever they've gone through. And it's so interesting cuz I never feel the need to preface stuff. It's only when I talk about brown shit. I need

39:06Oti: So

39:07KT: Friends and lovers, if you're feeling spicy and you've just met us, go and check out our open source hiphop episode. It is mui. Um, but I, I would give all of the grace again. I think this film is great. I think if you wait for, you know, pop stars to tell you how to vote, and if you vote in pop stars into your political systems, then that's the fucking problem. Really,

39:32Oti: To tell me Gal Geto emergent movie,

39:34KT: it moved me to wanting to log off forever. But in saying that, like it was, it was very clear to me that I'm such a fucking nerd that sits here and watches things and podcasts all the time. Because I went into the cinema and it seemed like everyone, like, cuz obviously Cameo is in the film as well, and people were like, oh, it's blah, blah, blah. No, I didn't even know who the fuck they were.

40:00Oti: whoa.

40:01KT: But I guess that's also a good thing as well. Cause when I was talking to my mate at work, he had opinions about all sorts of, not, not just the people in the cast, like, you know, like talking about like postcode wars and that sort of thing. Like he had a lot of opinions.

40:15KT: And, um, for me, I think maybe it was a good thing that I, I'm not so embedded that I know who everyone is to know the nuances of whoever. But I will say, Oti. There is a song that you will really, really enjoy and I'm worried when you watch this film, that's all we're going to have on loop in our household.

40:33Oti: Wow. Yeah. Okay. That's

40:36KT: It's an anthem for men. It is an anthem for men.

40:44Oti: Wow.

40:45KT: Interesting. Oh, how you feeling, Oti?

40:49Oti: I'm glad you have such a blast, uh, experiencing all of this and that you enjoyed it and came out of it feeling emotional, feeling connected,

40:57KT: Mm-hmm.

40:58Oti: you know, vibing your peeps. my. Putting the pi in the front center?

41:02KT: Yeah. I, I'm not sure about this.

41:06Oti: too much.

41:08KT: And if you ever wondered if black people can be racist, perhaps friends and lovers, that is your proof.

41:18Oti: Wow.

41:21KT: Oh, but thank you so much, Oti. I really much enjoyed it. Um, and I actually brought a notebook so I could make notes about the films that I watched, but I had met so many amazing people I didn't even get time to write in the book. read a fucking book, Oti.

41:36Oti: 13

41:37KT: There's no other way aside from ending in an Archer reference

41:40Oti: Uh,

41:42KT: while we're here and I'm feeling all of my brownness, I'm very excited. They're casting for the live action Lilo and Stitch I'm not even joking. I'm very excited.

41:52Oti: Wow. Are are you going to, uh, put yourself out there? Me Yeah.

41:59KT: As a 30 year old Lilo.

42:01Oti: Yeah. Grease was made. There's room for anyone out there to be whoever they want to be on screen.

42:10KT: Well, you're not wrong. Who? Who? Thank you friends and lovers for joining us another week in the For Your Reference household. Our next episode will be our Christmas episode, Oti.

42:22Oti: noise. Feeling festive.

42:24KT: Feeling festive. Wanka. Mm-hmm. Festive wan.

42:29Oti: You reckon it's gotta be It's a Wonderful Life again.

42:31KT: Again, Have we not been through enough?

42:37Oti: Uh,

42:38KT: and then we're also doing our Christmas special as

42:40Oti: Mm-hmm.

42:41KT: uh, for those new friends and lovers, we rate everything numerically, everything that we've covered this year. Very exciting. If you like to spread the festive chi, if you're nasty on Twitter and Instagram we're @ForYourRefPod.

42:53Oti: Write us an email, hello@fyrpodcast.com.

42:56KT: We're also on Give KT a cookie for not even mentioning The White Lotus talking about putting on brown skin in Hawaii.

43:03Oti: I bought you my white poster, so

43:05KT: all

43:07Oti: that'll cover you. It's Bro

43:10KT: Hashtag White Lotus so white. Am I right? Fuck Mr. White and the clicky claims We're ending on Tupac friends and lovers, and we'll see you guys on our Christmas episode. ya. Hi.