A Tongan women's rights campaigner turned film-maker says being selected to work on a movie about the life of a Pacific woman is a dream come true.
The New Zealand Film Commission is funding the film 'Vai', that depicts the life of the title character.
New research finds scholarships and persistence are paying off in efforts to get more women in the Pacific into senior government jobs. Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
Its producers said Vai aims to give voice to a largely under-represented group: Pacific women.
Vai is an eight-part story written and directed by different women film-makers from around the Pacific and will be shot in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
Tonga's 'Ofa-ki-Levuka Guttenbeil Likiliki will write and direct one of the eight parts.
Photo: RNZI / Koro Vaka'uta
She said she is enthusiastic about working with the other Pacific women involved in telling Vai's story.
"This has been my dream since the age of 18. I've carried this dream with me for many years and although my journey has taken me on different experiences I've always had my heart on this dream. So, this is something that I embrace with all my heart and soul," said ‘Ofa-ki-Levuka Guttenbeil Likiliki.
Vai is due for release in 2019.