Marie Wawa is a ni-

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

actress and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, '' Tanna''. The film, which was the first to be shot entirely in Vanuatu, won two major prizes at the

2015 Venice Film Festival The 72nd annual Venice International Film Festival took place from 2 to 12 September 2015. Alfonso Cuarón served as the President of the Jury for the main competition. A restored version of Federico Fellini's film '' Amarcord'' was shown at ...

and was nominated for a

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. Wawa appears in the lead role opposite

Mungau Dain Mungau Dain (1994 – 5 January 2019) was a ni-Vanuatu actor and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, '' Tanna''. Dain, who had never acted before, was cast in the film alongside Marie Wawa, another Yakel villager, and oth ...

as two star-crossed lovers. Wawa is from the interior village of Yakel on

Tanna island Tanna (sometimes misspelled ''Tana'') is an island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu. Name The name ''Tanna'', first cited by James Cook, is derived from the word ''tana'' in the Kwamera language, meaning "earth". Etymologically, ''Tanna'' goes bac ...

Tafea Province Tafea is the southernmost of the six provinces of Vanuatu. The name is an acronym for the five main islands that make up the province: Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango and Aniwa. History Unlike the other provinces of Vanuatu, the territoria ...

, in southern

. Wawa, like the rest of the cast of '' Tanna'', was a novice, first-time actress with no experience prior to her casting. The film, a story of real-life forbidden love and tragedy, was shot on location around Yakel. Wawa was cast in the lead role of Wawa, a young girl who is betrothed in an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

as part of a peace deal with another tribe. However, she falls in love with the grandson of her chief, played by

. Their families refuse to allow the couple to marry. The couple flee and eventually commit suicide, mirroring the true real-life tragedy of a Tannese couple in 1987. The tragic circumstances led the elders to legalize

love marriage A love marriage is one which is driven solely by the couple, with or without consent of their parents, as opposed to arranged marriage. While there is no clear definition of love marriage, the term was in common use globally during the Victorian ...

s. In September 2015, Wawa traveled to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

with ''Tanna's'' three other lead actors to attend its world premiere at the

. Wawa also attended the 89th Academy Awards in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on February 26, 2017, where ''Tanna'' had been nominated for

References

External links

* Living people Date of birth unknown Vanuatuan actresses People from Tafea Province Year of birth missing (living people) {{film-actor-stub