Another film byu FLP Senator premieres today

Issue No: 761; 15 May 2001

 
FLP Senator Dr. Atu Emberson-Bain has produced another documentary on Fiji. Called In the Name of Growth, the documentary premieres today in Fiji's old capital Levuka. The film is made by Atu Bain and Michael Preston. Both are award-winning filmmakers.

In the Name of Growth is focuses on the operations of the Levuka tuna cannery PAFCO, and the experiences of its women workers and their communities. It traces the important historical role of Levuka in Fiji's colonial and postcolonial history, and is set against the backdrop of global economic trends and local political upheavals.

Interviews with prominent Levuka residents such as the late Dora Patterson and Sir Len Usher combine with those of chiefly elders like the Tui Toki and Tui Cawaci to contextualise the development of the tuna industry on the island. "But in the end", according to producer-director 'Atu Emberson-Bain, "the film focuses on some of the unsung heroines of development in Fiji: the women who skin, clean, cut and can Pacific tuna for the export markets of Canada and Europe".

Following the world premiere today, In the Name of Growth will have a series of free public screenings in Levuka on tomorrow (16th May). These screenings are scheduled to run continuously throughout the day to enable the Ovalau community to see the film. Emberson-Bain said that "both occasions have been organized as a way of expressing appreciation to the town and its people for all the support received during the making of the film." Because much of the film is in the vernacular with English subtitles, she said that the film should be more accessible to the Fijian speaking audience.

Local sponsors are contributing to the hosting of these two events in the old capital. Air Fiji is providing return airfares to Levuka, Ajay Prakash is contributing equipment, and Levuka cinema proprietors, Peter and Wendy Ramsay, are making their cinema available for both the premier and the free public screenings. Emberson-Bain said that she and Preston are "very grateful for this support, and greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm being shown in Levuka in the run-up to next week. There appears to be a lot of interest and excitement about the film."

The premiere of In the Name of Growth is also being supported by two women's organizations, Fiji Women's Rights Movement and DAWN, who are sponsoring the Suva launch of the film on Thursday 17th May. This will take place at the Australian High Commission and former Judge Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi will be the chief guest.

In the Name of Growth is the latest documentary by Infocus Productions which comprises the two-person team of Emberson-Bain and Preston. In January this year, they won a gold medal from the New York Festivals and UNESCO for their documentary Where the Rivers Meet. The medal was awarded for excellence in television programming and was chosen from amongst entries from Africa, the Arab States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Central Asia and Eastern Europe as well as the Asia-Pacific region. Where the Rivers Meet was commissioned by the World Council of Churches in 1998 for its Peace to the City Campaign. It has been described as "a poignant story of community courage and commitment to peace demonstrating the unique humanity to be found in Fiji's strife-torn multi-ethnic society".

The first collaborative effort by Emberson-Bain and Preston was commissioned by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for international broadcast on World Population Day in 1997. Entitled Caught in the Crossfire, the documentary was about sex workers in Fiji and was awarded best camera and best women's issue at UNESCO's forum for Pacific Women Television Producers. Like Where the Rivers Meet, it has been translated into French and Spanish and distributed internationally.

'Atu Emberson-Bain is a Tongan-born Fiji Islander who is a graduate of the Universities of Oxford, London and the Australian National University in Canberra. She is an author, consultant and documentary film maker, and was a member of the Fiji Senate prior to the May 1999 coup. Bain can be contacted on fonumelino@is.com.fj. Michael Preston is a film maker and professional musician, actor and sound engineer, who has performed and taught music in Canada, the USA and Australia.

 

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