Movies & TV Shows from French Polynesia

Claire and Jeanne are twin sisters, united by the same passion: the piano. Coached by their father like athletes, they join the prestigious Karlsruhe Conservatory. They are now competing to be soloists and training for a concert that will make or break their careers. But Claire and then Jeanne discover they are suffering from a serious illness and are slowly losing the use of their hands. With the support of their family and their undying love of music, they will find a unique way to change their fate. An inspiring and moving tale, based on a true story.

A Tahiti is a rugged, forest-clad South Pacific island, surrounded by coral reefs. Its traditional Polynesian way of life has been swamped over the years by foreign influences, particularly that of France. However, the long-awaited re-emergence of traditional culture is the focus of this documentary. We look at some of the people responsible for the cultural revival and their arts including the building of a double hulled canoe, the art of full body tattooing and the fierce dance competitions at the high point of celebration of Polynesian culture, the Tiurai Festival.

Bora Bora is the most popular destination in French Polynesia, certainly because of its lagoon, considered the most beautiful lagoon in the world. In this context, the islet could have sunk under concrete and pollution, and the reef could have been irreparably impacted. However, thanks to the will of a handful of inhabitants including the mayor of the island, Bora Bora is today a model of sustainable development, with water treatment technologies that are 15 years ahead of France, programs to rebuild corals and protect wildlife, educational actions and the rehabilitation of Polynesian traditions such as “rahui” and the establishment of a monitoring network using new technologies. All of this makes the island a veritable open-air laboratory that shows the way for all tropical coastal environments around the world.

A Heiva in Tahiti with the poet John Mairai as troop leader.

Roonui Anania, Chimé and Purotu started tattooing themselves and tattooing in the street, by snatch, that means with sewing needles attached to match sticks, then electric razors. Indian ink in a beer cap and off we went. Then Tavana Salmon brought back the first pig tooth combs, which they were not able to use for long due to hygiene. Impossible to sterilize. We had to go back to the electric razor, look for solutions. This film tells the story of the rebirth of Polynesian tattooing, then its expansion, told by the three greatest masters of Polynesian tattooing.

Sampaguita Jay is one of the black and gray tattoo specialists in France. With the Mark of the Four Wawes Tribe collective, she popularized traditional Filipino tattooing, where she was originally from.

Everyone knows Pitore in Moorea. Pitore is a sculptor, farmer, fisherman, canoe builder, fare builder, masseur and tattooist. He also makes medicines based on medicinal plants.

Michel Toofa Pouira Krainer, known as Chief Miko (born 3 April 1959) is a French Polynesian speaker, sculptor, traditional navigator, musician, singer, customary chief and activist. He played a major role in the Polynesian cultural revival, particularly in the revival of Polynesian tattoos. We accompany Chef Miko to choose good wood. This is an opportunity to hear the testimony of his Dusseldorf counterpart, Andreas Dettloff. Dettloff is a German visual artist living in Tahiti for around twenty years, who works on popular culture. The meeting with Chief Miko goes so well that a few days later we go to visit Dettloff at his home.

They were unveiled to the world through Herman Melville's immortalizing novels, Gauguin's paintings and Jacques Brel's songs. The Marquesas Islands, this archipelago of French Polynesia, still remain hazy in the western world. They are wild lands still scarcely inhabited; they are a land with rough relief; they are a land where men and nature, still primitive and untouched, live side by side. But most of all, the Marquesas Islands are the land of a an exceptional people: men.

Meeting with traditional tattoo artist Moana Heitaa. Moana uses the combs. Born in Tahiti, he learned with his Hawaiian mentor Heizea of Soul Pacific Signature, before traveling to the Pacific to deepen his knowledge and rediscover this ancestral art which has continued in Samoa and Tonga.

Filmed between 1980 and 1983, Tärava is considered the founding work of documentary cinema in Tahitian and embodies the link between the Polynesian and his ancestral land. To the rhythm of songs, hïmene tärava, the film takes us to discover our mountains and our valleys, and the story of the birth of the tärava. Filmed by Henri Hiro, Angelo Oliver and Harris Aunoa, Tärava looks back on the period during which missionaries settled in Polynesia. They never ceased to prohibit traditional songs and dances because they expressed in their eyes the perversions and lust of these pagan peoples. Drums and flutes, the basic instruments of Polynesian music, were thus banned. Only choral singing was permitted.

In the face of her mother’s absence and her father’s alcoholism, 12 year old girl, Küī, rises above her age, caring for her brothers and confronting life’s harsh realities. Inspired by a true story.

Hui Tarava is a Tahitian dance company based in San Franscico. Led by Angélique Bannag and Justin Froogie Atangan, a troupe of forty people responded to the invitation to Farereira'a launched by Coco Hotahota. Farereira'a is a gathering in Tahiti of international dance troupes practicing Tahitian dance. The film follows them throughout the week of the festival, from the Arahurahu site to the Grand Théâtre of Papeete.

Many dancers, group leaders, musicians, all generations, all "schools", all sensibilities combined, under the leadership of Coco Hotahota have decided to pay tribute to Pauline Dexter, to bring together their talents, to share their emotions so that the memory of the one who dedicated her life to dance and who guided them with so much passion will never be extinguished. "Horo'a" is a film that opens and closes the parentheses of a great moment of generosity.

This historical drama by Henri Hiro brings to life the majestic enthronement of a young king on the sacred marae Arahurahu in Paea, Tahiti. Set entirely in one place and one moment in time, the film immerses the viewer in the intricate rituals of an ancient Polynesian ceremony, portrayed with all its traditional splendor. Over 200 performers—including actors, dancers, musicians, and extras—contribute to this powerful reimagining of the past. The film features choreography by the acclaimed Coco Hotahota and music performed by the group Tereia de Penina.

Aged 83, Taverio Richmond is doing well. He is very involved in defending the indigenous rights of the Polynesian people. Particularly when it comes to land. He still climbs trees like a real chimpanzee. He is worse than Tarzan, his friend Tapu says of him.

The "Globe of Death" is a sensational, very dangerous circus act, which was popularized in the United States by Douglas Mac Valley. Mac Valley ended his days in Samoa, and he passed the baton to Bruno Loyale who has been presenting the "Globe of Death" in his Magic Circus of Samoa for thirty years. Within the Magic Circus of Samoa, three motorcycles compete in the metal globe. In 2019, for the first time a woman is at the helm: Yudy Serna Rodriguez is Colombian. In his family, all his brothers fly around the globe. She is the only girl. Her husband Sébastien Moreno Delgado is her partner in the globe. The third man is Brazilian. Together Yudy and Sébastien open and close the Magic Circus show, first with an aerial acrobatics number, then in the globe. They also rehearse a spectacular new number.

Tefana Tufaimea is a figure from the commune of Faa'a, on the island of Tahiti. He is the champion of traditional Maohi sports in the aito category (stone lifting, fruit carrier race and canoe). He is also a dancer and Mister Mini Heiva. Portrait of a discreet man who deserves to be known.

Almost all young people in Vaininiore are into sports. Some in the dugout, others in football, volleyball, but most are in boxing. Thai boxing. Behind the Eastern Bridge fire station in Papeete, the Vaininiore district has the reputation of being a red-light district. This is where a hard core of around twenty fighters trains in the evening, but there are new ones arriving all the time... Not all of them last long... Team Arupa is Hentz Tinomoe. He is a good coach, patient, a little tough when it comes to training... There is a good atmosphere, good understanding, a good spirit of cohesion at Vaininiore, VNR for the young people... A united team. In this film, Team Arupa VNR goes down to the Vairao peninsula for Team Black Devil.