New Zealand produced The Orator (O Le Tulafale) is the first feature filmed in Samoan and is the creation of writer and director Tusi Tamasese. Shot in and around villages on the island of Upolu, The Orator tells the story of Saili, a dwarf and the son of a chief who must find the courage to protect and fight for his family. It’s a moving drama about courage, forgiveness and love, and a remarkable debut from Tamasese, who kindly took the time to have a chat to us about making The Orator.
New Zealand produced The Orator (O Le Tulafale) is the first feature filmed in Samoan and is the creation of writer and director Tusi Tamasese. Shot in and around villages on the island of Upolu, The Orator tells the story of Saili, a dwarf and the son of a chief who must find the courage to protect and fight for his family. It’s a moving drama about courage, forgiveness and love, and a remarkable debut from Tamasese, who kindly took the time to have a chat to us about making The Orator.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to Rialto Channel!
Firstly, congratulations on your remarkable debut feature film. Where did your inspiration come from to write this story?
I grew up in Samoa and I am fascinated by people who hold chiefly titles. I think, they were role models in a way - chiefs in Samoa play an important role in society. Around the time I wrote the first draft of the script my family was thinking about having a title bestowed on me. This all had me wanting to explore "who" can be a chief through a story and film. I wanted to challenge the stereotype of a chief - which is why I chose Saili - a small person as the main character. Saili was a visual (and physical) metaphor I came up with after stripping away the usual images relating to chiefs of an imposing stature, witty tongue and someone who is ‘seen’.
You spent years re-writing and working on The Orator, how did you feel on your first shoot day in Samoa?
We didn’t have much pre-production time (and we were still doing some auditions and sorting out sets during the period we were shooting) so by the first day of the shoot it already felt pretty full on. We deliberately eased our way into the shoot with the 'easier' scenes being shot earlier. So I felt good on the first day - partly because it marked a big milestone but also because I had nothing to compare it to. After that, it was a bit of a blur, with constant thinking on my feet about prepping, rehearsals, auditions, shots, sets, alternative options if option A wasn't working, etc.
The film is shot around a couple of villages on the island of Upolu, and as this is the first film to ever be shot in Samoa I imagine there wasn’t any filmmaking infrastructure in place to assist you. What were your greatest challenges shooting in Samoa?
There were quite a few daily challenges relating to the weather - from raining/flooding, to extreme heat, and mosquitoes. Some of the other challenges related to convincing locals if we could use private exclusive things like village pools or private roads.
Casting was also difficult especially when we were looking for a small person to play the main role. Families are very protective and you have to work on getting the trust- which is the case with Fiaula the main lead.
Every orator chief in Samoa has his own way of oratory – their sort trade mark. One of the challenges was convincing the older chiefs to stick with the words on the script and not use their own words. I had to keep explaining that every word or part of dialogue in the script is deliberate that together were a layered part of how the story was to be told as a whole. That is, small changes could make a significant difference to the meaning and tone of scenes and how they contributed to the whole. Not withstanding this, you never know when something might work and there were a few improvisations that really did. So there were some compromises.
The lead role is played by Fa’afiaula Sagote in his first ever acting role and it’s a subtle and deeply moving performance. Where did you find Sagote, and how did you know he’d be able to portray the character of Saili with such genuine conviction?
The film has a lot of space and silence and much of the dialogue was spoken through the characters eyes and body language.
We found Fiaula on our visit to the big island of Savai'i. A woman rang us up and told us that her son was a small person and would fit the part. However, when we turned up the son was not a dwarf. However the woman admitted that Fiaula lived down the road.
The casting director, producer and I talked to Fiaula's family first to explain the film. When we finally had a chance to talk to him, we did a brief audition. Through this we saw that although very reserved, his eyes told us a different story – he was polite, yet you could see courage and a sense of fire in him. We knew then that he was the right one for the part.
I was transfixed by the natural-looking lighting in The Orator and the way it brought Samoa alive. How much lighting was actually used in this film?
We wanted to capture the feel, sound and look of Samoa – the change of light from morning, afternoon, evening and dusk. We were keen on using as much natural light as we can because there is a lot of mood in the film, and we wanted to reflect or enhance it through the lighting.
The natural looking lighting is due to Leon Narbey, his lighting crew and the colorist. We used a few lights here and there – mostly in the inside scenes to counter the brightness from outside especially in the traditional house where they're open and exposure was tricky. They did a fantastic job especially considering the weather was so unpredictable at the time of shooting.
The film premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and went on to become New Zealand’s first ever foreign language entry at the Academy Awards, but I’m wondering if the film has been screened in Samoa, and if so, how have audiences reacted to the film?
We did a screening in Samoa last year and the reception was really positive. I heard stories of families from the big island of Savai'i - which has no cinema - people catching the ferry to watch the movie and had to come back a few days later because it was fully booked.
I also heard stories of people taking their grandmothers and grandfathers to their first cinema experience to watch the film.
If you could bump into yourself five years ago, what’s the most important thing you would tell yourself now about what you’re about to go through?
Firstly, I’ll slap myself. Then “you should practice public speaking - it helps during those public Q&As”
What was the last film you saw that moved you?
Biutiful.
So, what next?
I'm working on a few scripts - hopefully someone will be interested in funding them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, we’re thrilled to be premiering The Orator on Rialto Channel.