Feature length Samoan film, “Liliu Le Taimi”

MY JOURNEY

Talofa and Warm Pacific Greetings!

My name is Jordan Kwan, and I am an aspiring Samoan film-maker. My background is originally in photography, but I’m now on my journey towards becoming a fully-fledged (or semi-fledged – it’s a work in progress) film-maker.

I was 8 years old when I got my first camera. I broke it on the first day (no lies).

But I didn’t break it accidentally – I deliberately took it apart because I was interested in its inner workings (I couldn’t put it back together, but that’s another story). The idea of a little unassuming black rectangle box being able to create the magic of photographs was mind-blowing to an 8 year old. It was then my love affair with cameras began, and my deep appreciation for its technical aspects that allows all the magic to work.

I was that weird kid in school who loved taking pictures, and the enduring memories that my classmates have of me is (sadly) always being behind a camera. I love working with cameras so much that, what was initially an obsessive hobby, ended up becoming my bread and butter for the last three years (and I’m not half bad, if I do say so myself).

After various photography gigs over the years, and subsequent small video projects (commercials, online vids, short films etc), I finally made the huge jump to my first feature length film.

Making the transition from photography work to video work was an easy one – it was, for me, a natural progression, especially in today’s age with DSLR’s (digital single lens reflex cameras) capable of both HD image and video capture. Both mediums serve the same purpose that I have come to appreciate, which is to capture moments in history that can be appreciated time and time again.

This has become especially important to me because there aren’t many Samoan films out there. I want to be the teller of Samoan stories – and I think it’s important for our stories to be told by our people, for our people, starring our people.

MY PROJECT

After saving, and saving, and saving some more, I finally managed to put aside some money to start work on my first feature length film called “Liliu Le Taimi: A Modern Samoan Love Story”. It’s been an amazing journey thus far, but definitely challenging – it’s made even more challenging since the need for financing is so central to making this project a reality.

The film itself is essentially a love story but with a strong legal background – our protagonists work in an Auckland law firm owned by a successful Samoan businessman. They are working on a man’s case who was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years for a crime he didn’t commit. In the process of seeking justice for this man, it also becomes a journey of self-discovery for our protagonists.

One of the things we are particularly proud of with this project is that you’ll get to see and hear our Samoan language on film – and it’s interesting because it reflects the reality of how us Samoans speak our language today, especially my generation, which is mixed in with lots of English. We are also proud of this film because it empowers our women. Another reality for our community is that it is heavily patriarchal – so we want to generate positive discussion about how we can elevate and empower our better halves.

WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT?

It’s an important project because there is a serious lack of quality Samoan films out there. I want to be part of the movement that brings our people’s stories to screen – stories we can see ourselves in, stories that aim to inspire.

As I’ve mentioned in my video, my first ever job was a cleaner at a Westfield Mall. It was hard work. And during my time there, I saw a lot of my people working the similar jobs. And it’s the reality for our Samoan people, and our larger Maori and Pasifika communities, is that we tend to work low paying jobs that nobody else wants to do, and that barely allows us to make ends meet.

Don’t misunderstand me. No matter our jobs, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an honest day’s work to support our families. But I think it’s also important to try and inspire our people to aim high in their lives. This is in the hope that our people can then contribute to their families and communities in a much more meaningful way by having genuinely rewarding and high paying jobs.

Our film, in some small way, hopes to help to that end. We want to give our people three dimensional screen characters they can see themselves in, screen characters that fill high achieving knowledge based vocations that they can aspire to. I, along with my generation of friends, grew up on lots of American TV series and films, yet saw no screen characters we could relate to. If that’s not enough, watch our video and listen to our American accents (so everybody says anyway). Why do we ‘supposedly’ have American accents? When we aren’t even American? The only consistent exposure we’ve had with American culture is through their pervasive entertainment mediums. And it gets you thinking about how influential TV series and movies can really be. It’s a legit revelation. So why not wield this knowledge positively?

I think about our younger generation, our Samoan, and Maori and Pasifika youth, who grow up on an entertainment diet of foreign media that don’t reflect our lives. It makes me a bit sad. But instead of just being sad about it, I want to be proactive, and contribute to bringing them screen stories they can see themselves in.

That is why “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson has a semi-deity status in the Samoan community – because he is Samoan, with a highly successful acting career playing various awesome roles – and it’s exciting for our people to see someone on screen that they can see themselves in!

WHAT YOUR PLEDGE MEANS:

Your pledge means the completion of this project. But this project is only just the beginning – the hope is to make this a sustainable endeavour so I can keep doing what I love, and also give my community films that entertain and educate.

Your help will mean to the world to me. $10,000NZD sounds like a lot (and it is), but it’s a small price to pay for making my dream into something real and tangible, and set the stage for what will hopefully become my ‘real’ full-time job. I see it as an investment too – we’ve got an amazing cast and crew that spans generations, but it’s mostly exciting because of the young talent involved. Donating means our youth have a creative platform to thrive and build on, so we can arm ourselves with the relevant know-how to become great Samoan storytellers, and give something positive back to our communities.

And I hope the completion of this project will inspire a new generation of Samoans and our island communities to aspire to achieve their dreams, despite how lofty they may seem. If someone told me when I was 10 that one day I’d actually be making a movie, I’d be like, “Whaaaaaaaat? Me? Lies!”

WHY DO WE NEED FUNDING?

Reaching our target of $10,000 will go a long way to completing this project. Believe it or not, $10,000 is what an average short film (roughly 15-20 mins long) would cost to produce, yet we’re filming a feature length film of a bit over 90 minutes spanning multiple locations! It’s a daunting undertaking. Yet we’re optimistic, and we’re ready to rise to the challenge – it’s amazing how you can cut costs and be creative on a budget yet STILL make a quality film. Part of the excitement is definitely challenge!

While making films has become more and more accessible, it still costs a pretty penny to get our hands on the gear we need.

The most expensive cost is gear rental – which includes the Canon C300 prosumer cinema camera which we’re using to film, its accompanying cinema Zeiss lens, lighting and audio equipment, as well as various rigs we need.

There are also other pesky yet necessary costs, such as space and location rental we need to shoot in, catering for our cast and crew, and other miscellaneous costs such as gas, parking, make-up… and coffee. Yes, coffee. Must not forget coffee. Very important. Mmm. Yum.

WHAT DO YOU GET?

This is a grassroots effort to bring our Samoan stories to screen. In return for your donation, you’ll get to join us on our journey – that means behind the scenes footage, interviews, and all manner of cool updates. You get to share in our passion and commitment, our triumphs and failures, and you’ll get to see us cry – because yes, there will be lots of tears as we bring this project to completion. And that’s the beauty of being part of a tight knit community – our successes and failures are shared. But we’re focused on making this a success, and sharing that success with you all.

You’ll also get lots of hugs and kisses, as well as become my new best friend (and the good Lord knows I don’t have a lot of friends).

But we’ll make it more interesting!

For those of you who believe in our passion and commitment, and decide to donate a $100 or more, you’ll be the first to see it! We’ll send you a signed DVD copy of our film at LEAST two weeks prior to its general release.

For those of you who donate $200 or more, not only will you get a signed DVD copy, but you’ll also get your name in our film credits.

TIMELINE:

We are mindful that our filming is currently on hold while we’re in the process of raising the funds we need to complete it so our timeline is a bit iffy. If our crowdfunding is successful, we hope to resume filming for the entirety of the month of October and a bit of November, and then edit furiously for the rest of November until early December.

This is because December is a festive month – it’s Christmas! And Christmas means gifts! We hope to take advantage of this period when people spend money to get our film out there – we reckon it’ll make for great Christmas gifts.

Because we want to get our film out by Christmas, reaching our crowdfunding is time sensitive. So we’d love to get you on-board to support us!

PARTING WORDS

I am grateful to Spark NZ for giving us this opportunity to not only make a long term dream into a reality, but also to give back something meaningful back to our communities.

And whether you donate, or send us positive vibes, we’ll be so grateful! To say your support would mean a lot to me would be the understatement of the millennia – I’m extremely humbled. Your support goes a long way in helping us make something of ourselves, and hopefully in the process inspire others, especially our youth, to aim high and live their dreams.

Fa’afetai tele lava mo lo outou lagolago mai.

Soifua ma ia manuia!

Jordan