Advanced search

Laurent Delahousse welcomes a guest for a major interview in "8:30 pm Le Dimanche." A live musical performance follows.

Unanimously considered the greatest choreographer Polynesia has known, Coco Hotahota is a dance master. He is one of the rare group leaders, if not the only one, to actually take care of the entire production chain of a show, whether it is writing the theme, writing the songs, composing. , costume creation, choreography. In 1962 he created his troupe, Te Maeva, which in 55 years of existence will have been the most successful troupe in the history of Heiva i Tahiti, and also the largest troupe in terms of number, more than 150 dancers in peak, in the 80s. Today we have the impression that Coco, who has long represented modernity, has become a bit of a reference for tradition. It's the whole contradiction of the character that we also admire for that. This film traces the long history of Te Maeva.

This film focuses on the links between Maori tattoo artists from New Zealand (James Webster, Juliee Paama Penguely, Moko de la Terre) and those from French Polynesia (Roonui Anania, Chimé, Laurent Purotu). With interventions by specialists Sébastien Galliot and Michael Koch.

The Hawaiki Nui Va'a is the "Super Bowl" of French Polynesia (Tahiti). The crew followed open-ocean, 6-man outrigger canoes racing between Tahitian Islands, Huahine, Taha'a, Raiatea and Bora Bora. The ESPN-distributed TV special included stories of particular elite Tahitian oarsmen about their culture and lifestyle in the beautiful islands of French Polynesia. The Host was Craig Hummer, of ESPN [us].

Poet John Mairai accepted the role of leader of the Nuna'a e Hau troupe. He was inspired by a legend recorded in the book Tahiti in Ancient Times to write a metaphorical libretto on the theme of revolt. Nuna'a e Hau tells the story of Terehe, a young girl who does as she pleases when the gods have imposed rationing on her island of Raiatea. To punish her for going swimming when even the wind was forbidden to blow, the gods sent her an eel and struck her with epilepsy. The director followed John Mairai from the first rehearsals to the final triumph: Nuna'a e Hau was the most successful Heiva i Tahiti troupe for more than twenty years, winning six awards.

In the 1980s almost no one was tattooed in Polynesia. With the cultural renaissance in general, and also political demands at different levels, tattooing has once again become a form of expression and also a certain attitude, sometimes described as maohitude. Today we no longer live in traditional societies. Tavana Salmon tattoos Chimé when he was fourteen years old. Chimé liked drawing and painting, and in addition his cousin Laurent Purotu began to learn engraving and sculpture at the arts and crafts center. And every time he left school, he showed his cousin what he had learned. Chimé introduces himself as Tahua Tatau. A tattoo artist from Moorea, he has been living in Europe for over twenty years. Today his salon is located in Bordeaux. Roonui Anania, Chimé and Purotu started tattooing themselves and tattooing in the street, by snatch, that means with sewing needles attached to match sticks, then electric razors. Indian ink in a beer cap and off we went. Then Tavana Salmon brought back the first pig tooth combs, which they were not able to use for long due to hygiene. Impossible to sterilize. We had to go back to the electric razor, look for solutions. This film tells the story of the rebirth of Polynesian tattooing, then its expansion, told by the three greatest masters of Polynesian tattooing.

Boxer, fisherman, murderer, jailbird, Terii Lenoir does not mince his words. Aged 65, this former boxer still beats up the little thugs who come to hang out a little too close to his cabin, at the foot of a mango tree, on the edge of the Tahiti lagoon.

Better known as Sampaguita Jay, Jade is one of the black and gray tattoo specialists in France. With the Mark of the Four Wawes Tribe collective, she helps popularize traditional Filipino tattooing, where she is from. In Moorea in French Polynesia she experienced one of the happiest days of her life during the Tatau i Moorea festival.

When the name Hikueru is mentioned, all the other surrounding islands shudder with fear. Because in the story, when someone from Hikueru says anything it comes true. In Hikueru speech is sacred. Tapu was born in Hikueru. Until the age of nine, he grew up with his grandfather in Reka Reka. There is no better place in the universe than the Tuamotus, Tapu tells us. Tapu Bonnet descends from the great names of French Polynesia. He can recite his genealogy over several centuries. Forty years ago he was one of the seeds, one of those who renovated and restored this culture which was prohibited: walking on fire, tattooing... Incredible the flowering that there has been since that time of eighties.

Toetu Ha Song has been the famous clown of Bruno Loyale's Magic Circus of Samoa for over twenty years. He loves to entertain people, especially children, and considers his uniqueness to be a gift from heaven. Every evening, he makes an audience of several hundred people laugh with his act. The Magic Circus of Samoa is the only circus in the Pacific. It is very popular from Polynesia to Australia.

Tefana Tufaimea is a figure from the commune of Faa'a, on the island of Tahiti. He is the champion of traditional Maohi sports in the aito category (stone lifting, fruit carrier race and canoe). He is also a dancer and Mister Mini Heiva. Portrait of a discreet man who deserves to be known.

Kua and Teriki will soon get married. They live on the distant Tureia island in the French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean and have just been told that something is wrong with their son Maokis heart. It is a consequence of living only 100 km away from the island of Moruroa, where France has tested 193 atom bombs for 30 years. Several of their family members are sick and Moruroa can soon collapse, which can lead to a tsunami likely to drown all of them. Vive La France is a personal and intimate story about harvesting the consequences of the French atomic program.

A life changing event sends Tane back to Tahiti where he will have to reconnect to his self and and love again.

Created in 2010, the Putahi or Kotahitanga is a gathering of artists and art students from the Pacific (Tahiti, Aotearoa, Tonga, New-Caledonia, Hawaii, Fiji) which goal is to promote the sharing of knowledge and skills in order to inscribe the Oceania's cultures on the international artistic scene and counter the European's idea that Oceania's don't have a word to designate the art like in the western world. Shot in New-Zealand in 2016, this documentary dives into the artistic creation and community life of the fourth edition of the Putahi. The artists reveal through questions and reflections, their practices, their doubts and their creative process.

Païwan People share a rich tattooing tradition which was closely related to cultural identity and social status before the vanishement during WWII. This contributes to give Cudjuy Patjidres the motivation of the tattoing revival. Cudjuy is actualy the only traditionnal tattooist in Taïwan. He learn his art to Bai Ai Païwan tatoo artist. Suliljaw Lusaujatj, student of the Departement of Anthropology of the College of Asia and the Pacific help him as stretcher. Suliljaw reccord also the tattooing.

Michel Toofa Pouira Krainer, known as Chief Miko (born 3 April 1959) is a French Polynesian speaker, sculptor, traditional navigator, musician, singer, customary chief and activist. He played a major role in the Polynesian cultural revival, particularly in the revival of Polynesian tattoos. We accompany Chef Miko to choose good wood. This is an opportunity to hear the testimony of his Dusseldorf counterpart, Andreas Dettloff. Dettloff is a German visual artist living in Tahiti for around twenty years, who works on popular culture. The meeting with Chief Miko goes so well that a few days later we go to visit Dettloff at his home.