Gauguin’s World Film Weekend

Free, booking essential

A weekend of films from across the Moana Nui (Pacific Ocean) presented in partnership with the Festival International du Film Documentare Oceanien (FIFO), Tahiti's prestigious International Oceanian Documentary Film Festival.

Founded in 2004, the festival has made Tahiti the Pacific capital of documentary film, with filmmakers travelling from across the region to showcase their work and celebrate Pacific cultures.

The films screening at the National Gallery have been programmed by the festival for the exhibition, Gauguin’s World: Tona Iho, Tona Aho, on display in Gallery 12, 29 Jun – 7 Oct 2024.

A unique opportunity to engage with the rich diversity of Pacific screen culture.

Sat 17 Aug, 2pm

Patutiki: The Guardians of the Marquesan Tattoo, directed by Heretu Tetahiotupa and Christophe Cordier, is the first film to be directed, written, and produced by a native Marquesan. It focuses on cultural revival in the archipelago of the Marquesas where the practice of tattooing has developed into a unique vocabulary and art that has its roots in Marquesan culture and stories. Join filmmaker, Heretu Tetahiotupa, for a Q&A after the screening.

Sun 18 Aug, 11am

Rurutu, Terre de Umuai, directed by Virginie Tetoofa, takes audiences to one of the remote Austral Islands, 570km south of Tahiti, where a community of 2500 inhabitants are known in French Polynesia for their lively traditions and big weddings. This documentary follows the umuai festival over several days where everything from gifts, food, drink and dancing are offered in abundance.

Sun 18 Aug, 2pm

Tupaia, directed by Lala Rolls, follows New Zealand-born artist Michel Tuffery (who is of Samoan/Rarotongan/Tahitian heritage) and actor Kirk Torrance (who is Māori of Ngāti Kahungunu heritage) as they trace the life of Tupaia, the Tahitian navigator who joined James Cook’s Endeavor expedition in Tahiti to the shores of Aotearoa/New Zealand in 1769.

The Festival International du Film Documentare Oceanien, known as FIFO, was founded in 2004 to bring Oceanian cinema and filmmakers to Tahiti.

FIFO has become an unmissable event in French Polynesia. More than a cultural event, FIFO is also a pillar in the development of the audiovisual industry in Oceania. The festival offers unique opportunities for dialogues and creativity to germinate, bringing directors and producers, technicians and TV channels, representatives of foreign festivals and distributors together to connect over Oceanian cinema.