RAMA Festival Films 2022

In 2022 the Norfolk Wave ran its inaugural RAMA Film Festival. We were blown away by the talent and enthusiasm from the community, and can’t wait for our next festival September 2023! The theme of the 2022 RAMA Film Festival was ‘Reeling In Auwas Marine Park Aroha’, in which each filmmaker was asked to express an ocean-related theme that celebrates our connection to the sea. Here are some of the films from the festival. Stay tuned to our socials for the 2023 theme!

Just One Turtle…

Nat Grube and Luca Fox created this film because they wanted to increase awareness around an important issue. It wasn’t an easy film to make, because our lagoon is a treasured icon, and the truth could cast a shadow on Norfolk’s pristine image. Nevertheless, it felt like a subject that was overdue in the telling, and one that was worthy of our incredible community.

When Doris the turtle looks you in the eye it can feel a little uncomfortable, because we have been polluting her home for decades, and she may be paying the price for our apathy. When it’s time to return Doris back to the sea, she will most likely find her way back to the Emily lagoon. If we don’t take Doris’ condition seriously, or heed the warning signs and scientific evidence, not only are we putting Doris at risk again – but we are moving towards a mass extinction in our lagoon.

As Doris slowly recovers under intensive care, we should take this time to reflect on our collective behaviours and consider our role in the health of our reef and lagoon. There needs to be multiple levels of responsibility taken, from the individual to the government. Neither one can deflect responsibility to the other, or we will continue to go around in circles.

If you represent Norfolk Island in a government capacity, we ask that you expedite the lagoon health as a concern. If you love Norfolk and you enjoy the lagoon, we ask that you assess your personal behaviours and consider what you can change or tweak.

Auwas letl salan gwen look back on this time in history and they will examine the decisions that we made. In their name, let’s be authentic, vulnerable and courageous as we move forward, and make some noise!

This film is for Doris. It is also for Ellie, and orl auwas yang salan. May we honour your future, in every choice that we make.

For more information on Doris’ journey: www.norfolkislandreef.com.au/out-on-a-swim

Rama!

A song written by Kath King, and performed by Kath, Nat Grube, Alison Ryves and Anson King.

The music video clip was made by Luca Fox and Nat Grube, and the audio recording and mix was the work of Pendo Bob Pendleton!

It was filmed at 3am one morning….full moon and sink saf (low tide)…the fish were jumping from the pools and the mana was buzzing…

While the Magri boys meander down the hill to Bumbi f gu rama, the Rama Gehl weave their magic…using the ‘rama’ of their Tahitian foremothers.

Enjoy yorli

The Fog & The Sea…

This is a film by the supremely talented Zach Sanders. Zach’s inspired eye and attention to magical moments, paired with his intimate knowledge of his camera and his natural environment, have created some of Norfolk Island’s most iconic and emotive images.

Above or below sea level, Zach’s imagery will take your breath away, for his ability to transmit the emotional space around his subject is uncanny. Zach’s work is never just an image of a wave or a sunset or rolling Norfolk hills – but more like a transference of love from the photographer to the viewer.

In Zach’s latest creative piece ‘The Fog & The Sea’, Zach takes us even deeper into his world, and the impact is profound. The ripples of this film were felt long after the RAMA screening, because Zach’s interpretation of his own mental health journey resonated with so many of us. While watching the children in the audience absorb the message, it felt as though not only present doors were opening, but future ones too.

Thank you Zach for your exquisite and courageous film!

Home Free

This beautiful film by Hiva (11 years old) was inspired by a White Tern (Lulu) that he helped bring back to health. Hiva has always had an affinity for birds, and is passionate about photographing them and learning about them. He recently created a series of bird paintings that he turned into greeting cards, and gave 1/3 of the proceeds to the Norfolk Flora and Fauna society so that they can continue their important work in protecting Norfolk’s birds. Hiva has always been drawn to birds, and perhaps this next story sheds some light on why this is so.

In the Rapa Nui (Polynesian) tradition, a woman often has a ‘Po’ before her child is born, which is a dream that reveals the child’s animal totem. Hiva’s mother Nat wasn’t sure if she would have a Po, though one night she had a dream…in the dream she saw paintings of a Red Tailed Tropic Bird (a ’Tavake’) on the ceiling. These paintings came to life, and the Tavake birds began swirling around her. As Nat was admiring a series of drawings on the wall that depicted a bird’s life, from egg to grown bird, she noticed a small white bird was buzzing around her head. This little white bird found a gap in the doorway and zoomed out of it! Nat woke up, in labour, and Hiva Tavake Tuki Grube was born several hours later.

When Hiva found a White Tern on the sand at Bumbi, he could not leave it alone until he was sure it was safe. After putting it on a pine branch, he observed that it would try to fly, but couldn’t. There was a lone dog on the beach, hovering around the tern. A decision was made to bring the bird home (named Lulu by his sister) until it was strong enough to fly. Lulu spent the nights in Hiva’s room, and the days on a pine branch near to the house. Hiva and the tern would spend hours observing each other in silence, and Hiva said that he learned more about birds in those quiet times, than he has from observing them in the wild. He understood that they needed to be free.

This film explores Hiva’s feelings of hope that Lulu would recover and be free, and also his sadness of saying goodbye to his new friend.

Fsh & Headstone’s Heroes!

How awesome are auwas letl salan (our kids)? Luca and Nat were lucky to spend some time with local students through the RAMA Film Workshops, and it is a privilege to showcase the two films that came out of those workshops – FSH by Kira Hamilton-Irvine and HEADSTONE’S HEROES by Asti Susilovic.

The first 40 seconds you will meet a FSH – A Fish With No ‘I’ (get it?!) Find out why this fish closes its eyes…and wait for the surprise ending!

The following 3 minutes you will be entertained by the gang of HEADSTONE’S HEROES who are on a mission to clean up the sea!

These two films wowed the audience on the night of the festival, especially the younger crew who were transfixed by the creativity and the expression of Asti and Kira. Asti and Kira – thank you for dedicating yourselves to protecting our natural world, your voices are so important and we want to see more!

Thaenks f aklan