Have Māori opened the door for Pacific Islanders in film?
Māori theatre and film have definitely paved the way and made things easier for the rest of us to follow. They’ve opened more doors than we Pacific Islanders like to admit. . . . There was no Pacific Islander who had gone to Melbourne and applied for film school. I was the only Brown person in the whole school. Sometimes you just have to stop thinking about color and just go do it because it’s all about your talent. People need to get a bit more confidence and self- esteem to go out there and just do what they want to. Sometimes you need to ignore and put aside the cultural issues and the racial issues, and just get on with it to obtain some of those skills and knowledge. You can get all hopped up and . . . next thing you know, we’re all fighting each other and not going anywhere. But having a lot of self-confidence and self-esteem is important. Where do you get that? You get that by finding some pride in your culture and your people and having role models. It’s a bit of a vicious cycl
