Polynesia’s International documentary Film Festival (FIFO) is set for extensive coverage by Polynésie la 1ère, highlighting the festival’s cultural impact across the Pacific region through dedicated television, radio, adn online programming. This year’s festival will feature a curated selection of documentaries, beginning with a “Night of Docs” on February 11th, and continuing with daily screenings through February 13th. Polynésie la 1ère’s coverage will include daily television segments and web features offering insights into the festival and the filmmakers behind the works.
Polynesia’s International Documentary Film Festival (FIFO) is set to receive extensive coverage from Polynésie la 1ère, with a robust lineup of programming and events designed to showcase the festival’s impact across the Pacific region.
Television, radio, and digital platforms will all be fully engaged before and during the festival, with an increased presence at the Maison de la culture, te Fare Tauhiti nui.
Live broadcasts of Fare Ma’ohi, on-site workshops, radio coverage, and a special documentary lineup will highlight Polynésie la 1ère’s commitment to celebrating documentary filmmaking.
The news team will provide comprehensive festival coverage, including the nightly -l’oeil du FIFO- segment in television broadcasts, offering a window into this year’s edition and insightful analysis of the featured documentaries. The website will feature -l’esprit FIFO-, an inside look at the festival with interviews, emotional moments, and highlights.
The Night of Docs – Wednesday, February 11, starting at 7:25 PM
© Blackfella Films
► The Dark Emu Story
Grand Prix du jury FIFO – France Télévisions 2025
The film revisits the controversy surrounding Bruce Pascoe’s book, Dark Emu, which prompted Australia to re-examine its history. Pascoe argues in his book that Indigenous Australians practiced agriculture, engineering, and construction. The colonial narrative portraying them as simple hunter-gatherers has been used as a political tool to dispossess them. The book’s publication sparked debate in Australia, with many academics, journalists, and critics questioning Pascoe’s interpretations, as well as the Indigenous heritage he claims.
95 min • Directed by Allan Clarke • Produced by Blackfella Films • 2023 • Australia
► Fier.e.s. La Voix du Pacifique
2nd Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award – FIFO 2025
© Cartouche Louise-Michèle
In the islands of Polynesia, the concept of gender is far more complex than commonly understood. Loïc, Reretini, Lalita, Tehau, and Sailali, often labeled as “bad gender” or “third gender,” are bearers of a rare and powerful transgender identity. Through a series of luminous and intimate portraits, this documentary gives them a voice and offers a new perspective on questions of gender in light of Oceanic thought.
54 min • Directed by Raynald Mérienne • Produced by DEBAZ.media, Eclectic and Stories&Co • 2025
► Circle of silence
Grand Prix du jury FIFO – France Télévisions 2024
Five Australian journalists murdered, one woman seeking the truth…. The documentary *Circle of Silence* unveils one of the darkest chapters in the history of Australia and East Timor. The film plunges into the heart of a politically explosive case that marked the history of Australia and East Timor. It is inspired by Shirley Shackleton’s award-winning book, a woman whose life was turned upside down by the murder of her husband, Greg Shackleton, one of the five Australian journalists killed in 1975 in Balibó, then Portuguese Timor.
84 min • Directed by Luigi Acquisto & Lurdes Pires • Produced by Stella Zammataro & Luigi Acquisto, FairTrade Films, Dili Film Works • 2023
A week dedicated to documentaries, with a film from previous editions airing each evening.
Monday, February 9, at 7:25 PM
© Lisa Taouma
► New – Le Mythe de la vahiné (Myths and Maiden)
This film explores the representation of women from the Pacific, from Samoa to Aotearoa. Blending archival Hollywood footage with intimate stories, this film, a true act of resistance, deconstructs the myth of the *vahiné*, a figure of sensuality and freedom born from the encounter between European sailors and islanders in the 18th century. The director deconstructs the image of the “vahiné” through a contemporary look at the reality of Pacific women, which does not correspond to the myth, either physically or morally.
58 min • Directed by Lisa Taouma • Produced by Lisa Taouma, The Coconet TV • 2024 • Aotearoa
Tuesday, February 10, at 7:25 PM
© Paul Wolffram
► New – Marimari
In Papua New Guinea, in communities dominated by fear of witches, a woman fights to save those accused, armed only with her compassion.
97 min • Directed by Paul Wolffram • Produced by Shu Run YAP/Paul Wolffram, Handmade Productions Aotearoa • 2024 • Aotearoa, Papua New Guinea
Thursday, February 12, at 7:25 PM
© Jalena Keane-Lee
► New – Entre ciel et nuages (Standing above the clouds)
When the construction of the gigantic Thirty Meter Telescope is decided on the dormant volcano Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii, a unprecedented mobilization follows to protect this sacred mountain. This film offers an intimate journey through the lives of women from three Hawaiian families who oppose the construction of this telescope. Despite the challenges and tragedies, the mountain offers them hope, strength and the conviction that victory lies in unity to protect sacred places and that healing comes through the female solidarity they have forged along the way.
83 min • Directed by Jalena Keane-Lee • Produced by Amber Espinosa-Jones, Erin Lau, Jalena Keane-Lee and Pua Case • 2024 • Hawaii
Friday, February 13, at 7:25 PM
© Ngaire Fuata, Stephen Stehlin, SunPix Ltd
► New – Maisuka, Diabetes the Silent Killer
Maisuka, the sugar disease… The film revisits the prevalence of diabetes, omnipresent in the island communities of the Pacific in Aotearoa. An investigation between intimate testimonies and scientific perspectives.
42 min • Directed by Aroha Awarau • Produced by Ngaire Fuata, Stephen Stehlin, SunPix Ltd • 2024 • New Zealand
