Production has begun on the first ever feature film to be shot in Samoa, in the Samoan language, with local actors.
The film, called O Le Tulafale, or The Orator, is financed by the New Zealand Film Commission and will be distributed in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
The film's producer, Catherine Fitzgerald, says it is an opportunity to showcase Samoa.
"It's a Samoan story, set in a contemporary Samoan village, it shows Samoa as it is today, as people live their lives, it's not an education documentary, or anything like that. It's drama that comes out of this country."
Catherine Fitzgerald says principal photography begins at the end of the month, for about six weeks.
