park city — Utah’s Tongan community welcomes a film featured at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It focuses on their language and cultural identity.
KSL TV spoke to the filmmakers about their journey to the big screen.
“Lea Tupu’anga Mother Tongue” is a short film about a speech therapist who feels cut off from Tongan culture because she cannot speak the language. Lucian Buchanan wrote the screenplay and also starred in the film.
As a psychology student, she was inspired by research she had conducted.
“It was about a Samoan woman who was bilingual and had a stroke and was only able to retain Samoan,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan identifies with his character.
The New Zealand actress is half Tongan and half Scottish, but she doesn’t speak Tongan.
“Even my grandmother, who passed away two years ago, developed dementia and her language skills continued to decline,” she said. “And we gave each other this kind of ‘tongue-lashing’.”
She teamed up with fellow New Zealand-born Tongan director Vea Mafileo.
The pair never imagined that Sundance would select their short film from among 17,000 applicants from around the world.
“The audience reaction was very surprising and it was great to see that this is a story that transcends cultures,” Mafileo said.
Although the film focuses on Tongan culture and language, Mafileo says all audiences can relate to the main message of love and connection.
“You are no less. You are no less than a Tongan. After all, there are many ways to show love, even if you don’t know your own language.”