Love story island style

FIJI’S first full-length feature film will be a classic love story based on the traditions and culture of the country’s two major races, and the dilemma young people face when mod ern and traditional values conflict. Film ing of the F 5600,000 Dreamland on the moonless nights finished in April and will be produced in Germany for worl dwide distribution by Mana Movie Pro ductions in July or August.

The film’s Austrian writer, director and producer, Ellen Umlauf, said the film was based on the relationship be tween a Fijian boy and an Indian girl who wish to get married but face family objections and vast cultural differences.

The heroine, played by student Ashwi ni Singh, of Suva, is trapped between living in a modern society with modern expectations and obeying her traditional Indian father who wishes her to marry a man of his choice. Ratu Alex Soqosoqo, from Kadavu Island, plays her lover, who has to reconcile strong ties to his family and Melanesian heritage with breaking tradition to marry an Indian.

Ashwini said the film showed that peo ple should not hold customs and tradi tions against a person and portrayed the good and bad aspects of both cultures, which led to some tragic scenes as well as

happy ones.

While Dreamland of the moonless

nights looks at Indian and Fijian culture, the theme is an international one where two people of different backgrounds fall in love. It explores emotions and morals that are felt by people of all races, and concentrates on the dilemmas young people face when living in a modern society conflicts with traditional values.

UNESCO and the Better World Associa tion, which is based in New York, have both supported the film for its cultural

depictions.

The actors are local with no previous

acting experience but according to Uma

luf, bring a natural freshness, talent and enthusiasm to the screen: “It may be the beginning of successful acting careers for

Asaeli Lave

Ashwini Singh: Dreamland on the moonless nights

the young people, who will have interna tional exposure when the film is re leased.”

Ashwini, a Form 6 student of Suva’s Yet Sen Secondary School, said she en joyed making the film, but was more concerned with passing her exams than launching into a film career at present, “I’ll wait and see how the film turns out first. I was excited about making it, but not too confident. It took a bit of getting used to acting in front of the cameras, but Ellen told us what to do she’s an actress.”

Ratu Alex, a Form 6 student at Queen Victoria School, 60 miles from Suva, is also keen to finish school and see the reaction to the film before considering a film career.

Umlauf said the film was a bit uncon ventional because three languages were used and subtitles provided translation.

The issue of the language barrier be tween the races had to be addressed to capture an essential dilemma of the lov ers’ situation, so the actors speak in their own languages and the lovers communi

cate in English. She said it would also mean viewers could hear the different sounds and cadences of the two lan guages.

Dreamland of the moonless nights was filmed around Fiji, including Suva, Paci fic Harbour, Nadi, the sugarcane farm ing areas of northern Viti Levu and Ratu Alex’s village on Kadavu. It in cludes traditional Fijian and Indian cere monies. It was filmed by an interna tionally experienced West German crew led by Horst Schier and will be produced and distributed worldwide by Mana Movie Productions, owned by Umlauf.

The movie will premiere twice in July or August in Germany with German subtitles and in Fiji with English subti tles. It will be released on 35 mm and full cinemascope screen, as well as on video for television and home viewing. A West German television station has

already bought the television rights.

A special invitation was sent to Umlauf to show Dreamland of the moonless nights and another of her films about Fiji, Nabuli, at the House of Cultures of

the World annual cultural film festival from May 22 to June 5 in Berlin. The film festival is the largest of its kind in Germany and attracts films from around the world which depict different cul tures. Thousands of people visit the fes tival, particularly those interested in cul

ture, geography and travelling.

As Dreamland of the moonless nights will not be finished, Umlauf will show only Nabuli, a 95-minute documentary that explores life in a Fijian village. It has already been shown twice on Au strian television and appeared on West German television on 19 April.

Umlauf, who was born in Vienna, Au stria, has a successful career as an ac tress, writer, director and producer. She spends several months each year in Fiji and has produced a short documentary about Fijian customs, Bula Vinaka.

She has also made films in other Paci fic countries, including one in Papua New Guinea for UNESCO where she was caught in the middle of violent tribal warfare. Her next film is likely to be made in South America. □