''The Land Has Eyes'' ( Rotuman: ''Pear ta ma ʻon maf'') is a 2004 Rotuman film written and directed by

Vilsoni Hereniko Vilsoni Hereniko (born October 13, 1954) is a Rotuman playwright, film director and academic. He was the writer and director of Rotuma's first ever (and so far only) feature film, ''The Land Has Eyes'' (''Pear ta ma 'on maf''). Biography Hereniko ...

. It is the first ever (and so far only)

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

from

Rotuma Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as " ...

Plot

The main character, Viki ( Sapeta Taito), is a young

n woman shamed as the daughter of a man wrongly accused of being a thief. She finds inspiration in a mysterious "Warrior Woman" (

Rena Owen Renas may refer to: Places *Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain *Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway *Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States People *Rena (given name), list of pe ...

) from her people's legends.IMDB
/ref>

Cast

* Sapeta Taito as Viki *

as Warrior Woman *Voi Fesaitu as Hapati *Elisapeti Kafonika Inia as Mata *

John Fatiaki Dr John Charles Fatiaki (born ) is a career medical practitioner who was chosen by the Rotuma Island Council to be their representative in the Fijian Senate. He is the younger brother of former Chief Justice of Fiji Daniel Fatiaki. Education and ...

as Noa *Ritie Titofaga as Maurea *James Davenport as Judge Clarke *Maniue Vilsoni as Koroa *Sarote Fonmanu as Rako / Teacher *Emily Erasito as Hanisi - Viki's sister

Production

The film was shot on

, homeland of director Vilsoni Hereniko. Lead actress Sapeta Taito is Rotuman, and ''The Land Has Eyes'' is her first film appearance. She had, in fact, never seen a film before acting in this one."The Land Has Eyes" (review)
Tim Appelo, ''Seattle Weekly'', April 12, 2006 Rena Owen is best known for playing the lead female role in ''

Once Were Warriors ''Once Were Warriors'' is New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling first novel, published in 1990. It tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and portrays the reality of domestic violence in New Zealand. It was the basis of a 199 ...

''. The film also stars

as a corrupt court official.

Reception

''The Land Has Eyes'' was presented at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

in 2004, as well as a number of other international film festivals. It was Fiji's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards. The ''

Star Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolu ...

'' (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

) praised the film, "made on a shoestring budget". The ''

Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Int ...

'' noted that it "received an enthusiastic reception from the audience" at the Sundance Festival. A reviewer for the ''Advertiser'' explained that "All but two cast members were recruited from Rotuma. Most had never seen a movie before, much less acted in one. When the film was finished, Hereniko brought it back to Rotuma, borrowed a sheet from the hospital to use as a screen, and showed it eight times around the island." The reviewer recommended the film, and concluded: :''"Go see this movie if you have ever cringed over an outsider's misinterpretation of island culture. Go see this movie if you have ever cried over the systemic injustice visited upon poor, honest families. Go see this movie if your heart needs to hear that justice can prevail and that a force greater than all of us is watching and keeping score. Go see this movie if you want to be reminded that hard work leads to success. Go see this movie."'' A reviewer from the ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

'' wrote: :''"The film is weak in conventional narrative and production values. ..Yet that very authenticity is what gives ''Land'' its power. Hereniko captures the everyday texture of

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

n life: the clan connections that make nobody want to rock the boat .. the tension between pagan and Christian beliefs, the power of ancient stories and rituals. ..''Land'' reminds us of the power of film to take us to another world."'' ''The Land Has Eyes'' received the "Best Overall Entry" award at the 2005

Wairoa Maori Film Festival Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

, and the "Best Dramatic Feature" award at the 2004

ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto in the month of October. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Abori ...

.Official website homepage
/ref>

References

External links

*

* *
"What Would the Warrior Woman Do?"
Josephine Bridges, ''

The Asian Reporter ''The Asian Reporter'' is a Pacific Northwest-based newspaper, published monthly, in Portland, Oregon, United States. The paper was founded in 1991 and features international and local Northwest news and events with an Asia Asia (, ) is ...

'', April 12, 2005 (review) {{DEFAULTSORT:Land Has Eyes, The 2004 films Rotuman-language films English-language Fijian films Films set in Fiji 2000s English-language films