MEET THE TEAM
KALOLAINE FAINU, Founding Director
Kalo Fainu was the founder of the inaugural Pasifika Film & Arts Festival in 2013.
Favourite film “I’ve always loved Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction is one of my faves. I also can’t go past childhood classics like Neverending Story, ET and Lean on Me. I clearly remember the first time I watched Once Were Warriors in the cinemas when I was about 15 – wow!”
Kalo has a love for all things Pasifika and says “the film festival is a way to share and celebrate the wonderful and unique Pasifika stories that have been created or captured by Pasifika people.”
Island roots Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Samoa.
ELIORAH MALIFA, co-Director
Eliorah met Kalo while both were the only Pacific Islanders in their Masters program at University of Technology, Sydney. After being mistaken for Kalo one too many times, Eliorah connected with her and they worked together on a student film. Eliorah was part of the 2013 Pasifika Film & Arts Festival team.
Favourite film The Harry Potter Series
As an employee of Australia Council for the Arts, Eliorah has handled many projects, her favourite probably being Festival Coordinator for the Indigenous Australian delegation to the 2012 Festival of Pacific Arts in the Solomon Islands.
Island roots Samoa.
Get on Board!
This an exciting and pivotal time for Pasifika Film Fest; we are about to head out across Oceania armed with the passion, the pride and the pain of the Pacific, and a stand-alone story-telling platform for visual story-tellers and viewers across Oceania. This is a unique opportunity and we’re looking to add can-do people to our team.
There are a number of ways you could contribute to this enterprise, so if you think you have the skills and drive to work towards a sustainable future for the Festival and its objectives, get on board! Being part of the evolution of a successful project in its heady early days is inspiring and rewarding, and the door is open to creative thinkers and do-ers.
We have a small, but dedicated team with a shared ambition to see greater representation of Pacific stories in mainstream cinema and a commitment to facilitating emerging talent in Pacific communities across the globe.
Currently our team works voluntarily, however we are working towards developing more durable partnerships and securing more substantial funding grants that will allow us to create an enterprise solid enough to put our small team on a payroll.
Recently PFF was awarded a grant from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) which has allowed us to expand our festival format, travel to other festivals across the Pacific, build our networks and fund workshops for young Pacific filmmakers. PFF is extending its accessibility, gathering supporters and followers under its umbrella as it reaches further into the Pacific. Our future looks bright!
If you are motivated by the potential of the Pasifika Film Fest going into the future, we invite you to get in contact with our team by emailing a copy of your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your skills and experience, and why you would like to become a part of the team!
If you would like to support and assist in more practical ways, PFF also recruits volunteers every festival season to help out and to be hands on during the festival. This opens the opportunity for you to gain valuable insights and experience and also opens the door to a number of volunteer only perks! eg.Free films, PFF tees and access to our events!
The happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others.
- Gordon B. Hinckley
