The president of French Polynesia's assembly, Oscar Temaru, has expressed his support for plans to shoot a film about the 1988 Ouvea hostage massacre in New Caledonia.
21 people, mainly Kanaks, died when French forces intervened to end the hostage crisis.
Mr Temaru issued a statement after it became known that a key politician in Noumea, Pierre Frogier, had written to the French Polynesian government objecting to the film project going ahead outside New Caledonia.
Mr Frogier has said any effort that could undermine New Caledonia's fragile situation needs to be rejected but Mr Temaru says the events in Ouvea should not be forgotten.
The French film director, Mathieu Kassovitz, says because of the sensitivity of the subject, he was asked by New Caledonians to film elsewhere.
The movie will be shot in various locations in French Polynesia.