Vilsoni Hereniko (born October 13, 1954) is a Rotuman

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. He was the writer and director of Rotuma's 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 ...

, ''

The Land Has Eyes ''The Land Has Eyes'' ( Rotuman: ''Pear ta ma ʻon maf'') is a 2004 Rotuman film written and directed by Vilsoni Hereniko. It is the first ever (and so far only) feature film from Rotuma. Plot The main character, Viki ( Sapeta Taito), is a young ...

'' (''Pear ta ma 'on maf'').

Biography

Hereniko is a Rotuman, born in Mea village, Hapmak, Itu'ti'u District,

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 " ...

, Fiji. He was schooled in his native Rotuma, obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree and a Graduate Certificate in Education from the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

in 1997, a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Education at the

University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick univer ...

, and, in 1991, a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in literature and language at the University of the South Pacific.Biography on the website of the film ''The Land Has Eyes''
/ref> He is now a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

's Center for Pacific Islands Studies, where he teaches literature, theatre and film.

Career

Literary

Hereniko published his first plays in the mid-1970s, including ''Don't Cry Mama'', ''A Child For Iva'', ''Sera's Choice'' and ''The Monster''. In 1997 he received the Elliott Cades Writing Award for his overall contributions to literature.

Film

Hereniko has served on the jury and selection committee of the

Hawai‘i International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...

. ''

'', set in his native Rotuma, was his first feature film, in 2004. It 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, and was Rotuma's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards. It 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 of the film ''The Land Has Eyes''
/ref>

Filmography

*''

'' (2004), Writer and Director

Bibliography

*''Two Plays'', 1987, *''The monster and other plays'', 1989, *''The wicked cat'', 1991, *''Last virgin in paradise: A serious comedy'', 1993, *''Woven Gods: Female Clowns and Power in Rotuma'', 1995, *''Sina & Tinilau'', 1997 (children's book), *''Inside Out: Literature, Cultural Politics, and Identity in the New Pacific'', 1999 (as co-editor),

References

External links

Interview with Vilsoni Hereniko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hereniko, Vilsoni 1954 births Living people Rotuman people Fijian people of Rotuman descent Fijian dramatists and playwrights Fijian screenwriters Fijian film directors University of Hawaiʻi faculty University of the South Pacific alumni Alumni of Newcastle University