Entirely shot in Upolu, Samoa, over the course of eight years with a local cast and a film crew of eighty, this video by Yuki Kihara (b. 1975) investigates in provocative fashion critical questions related to the Polynesian island she was born in. With Gauguin’s paintings in mind, the film shows stories about ecology and climate change that focus on social and political aspects such as discrimination of minorities – especially the gender fluid Fa’afafine community, which the artist worked closely with –, and the effects of decolonization processes.
