Stories Across the Pacific and Pacific Film Dialogues

The Institute for Culture and Society is convening two events in August with Pasifika filmmakers and creative producers.

Thursday 13th August | Stories Across the Pacific: Filmmaking, Community and Pasifika Futures

Date & Time: 4–6PM Thursday, 13 August 2026

Venue: Utp’s Rehearsal Space 1 within Bankstown Art Centre – 5 Olympic Parade, Bankstown NSW 2200

RSVP: Please reach out to Utp producer, Jane Wade, via jane@utp.org.au to register your attendance! Limited spots available, free entry.

This open access workshop brings together Rotuman/Fijian filmmakers Letila Mitchell and Iane Atalifo and Rapanui/Chilean filmmakers Leo Pakarati and Paula Rosetti to share experiences of making films in and about the Pacific, discuss creative and cultural methodologies, and present works-in-progress for peer feedback.

The session aims to strengthen connections between Pacific creatives and Western Sydney's growing screen and cultural sectors while fostering community-led storytelling.

Stories Across the Pacific has been created for Pasifika filmmakers, creative producers, artists, community development practitioners, cultural workers, and emerging screen storytellers from Western Sydney.

If you are from this community, we would love to see you there! Please also feel welcome to extend this invitation to anyone you feel should be in the room.

Participants will:

• Gain insight into the opportunities and challenges of filmmaking in Pacific contexts.
• Explore culturally grounded storytelling practices.
• Learn about navigating production, funding and distribution pathways from filmmakers.
• Provide comments on filmmakers' works-in-progress.

For detailed access information to the venue, please visit Utp's Access page on the Utp website.

Thursday 14th August | Pacific Film Dialogues

Date & Time: 5:30–8PM Friday, 14 August 2026

Venue: Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) Building 130, The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park NSW 2021. Enter via Errol Flynn Boulevard.

RSVP: https://events.humanitix.com/pacific-film-dialogues

Join us for Pacific Film Dialogues, featuring a conversation with Pacific filmmakers and cultural practitioners Dr Letila Mitchell (Rotuma/Fiji) and Leonardo Pakarati (Rapa Nui/Chile).

Bringing together perspectives from across the Pacific, this event explores Indigenous storytelling, cultural revitalisation, environmental futures, memory, and the role of film in sustaining ancestral knowledge and community connections. The dialogue will be followed by screenings of two remarkable films:

Armea (2024, 20 min) Directed by Letila Mitchell
A visually rich and deeply moving journey into Rotuman culture, ARMEA follows the return of the Rako Pasefika collective to Rotuma as they reconnect with elders, cultural custodians and ancestral stories inspired by the sacred Armea bird. The film is an ode to Indigenous knowledge, artistic practice, and cultural continuity.

Ŋa Hinarere [The Children] (2026, 72 min) Directed by Leonardo Pakarati
Through inherited memories of a pivotal moment in Rapa Nui history, Ŋa Hinarere reflects on dignity, resilience, and the transmission of ancestral knowledge. The film revisits the restoration of the first moai erected in modern times and explores questions of identity, cultural survival, and collective memory.