I'm telling this story to document my family's history and to help others with shared experiences who are searching for a place to start healing from them.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to have your culture, your family, and even your very name ripped from you. But it’s what my mother and her siblings went through when they left Samoa for Aotearoa in search of “greater opportunities”. My family suffered trauma and sacrifice that would affect our 'aiga profoundly for generations.

My Mum Odila (born Otila) has always had a powerful command of words. It’s time to share her story. What better way to receive it than through her eyes over an ipu ki (cup of tea). We often have conversations where she reminisces about her childhood and now, viewers get to experience us as a fly on the wall and enjoy them as much as I do.

As my Mum recalls her memories, we’ll use archival materials...

..and transport back in time through animation.

While many of us are searching for guidance to recover from our traumas, a large portion of us don’t even know where to start. My hope is that this story will hold a mirror up to our communities to look at where it began for a lot of our people and kick start a journey of really breaking down the hold that the myth of “white supremacy” has on us.

We explore how Pacific people in the diaspora have been impacted by separation from culture, family, and self and how that relates to our familial bonds and personal mental health.

It's been 70 years since the Fanene family left the islands of Samoa in search of a better life. Was my family's vision of a better life real? Was it realized? And if so, at what cost?

With your help, we can cover the costs to:

• Finalize the animation sequences.
• Contract a Pasifika music producer to compose the score.
• Pay the all Pasifika cast and crew for their contributions.