The script for To’ona’i came about when I had
severe writer’s block with my end-of-year project at
South Seas. It came easily – compared with the script
I was having great difficulty with – because, I guess,
it came from the heart.
A few years and several other projects later,
Creative New Zealand were kind enough to fund it.
And here it is.
Three paragraphs in, and I still haven’t told
you what To’ona’i is about.
It’s a short film about the pain of mourning a sibling,
and figuring out how to move on with your life and
your family.
It’s a small film for and about my brother Sleep (an
anglicization of Silipa) who, if he hadn’t taught
me ultra-violent stick figure drawing skills, or put me
onto comic collecting, or helped shape my action-film tastes –
well, I wouldn’t be a multi-hyphenate right now.
David Mamea
31 December 2011
