Savage Swings

Samoan/Kiwi rapper Savage goes gold in America and takes honors in Aotearoa.

Savage’s hit single Swing passed the half-million mark in digital/mobile sales in the US this week, landing at #40 on the Billboard 100 and #7 on the iTunes hip hop chart, with more than 3 million views on his MySpace site.

Savage, aka Demetrius Savelio, shared the Tui award for International Achievement at the New Zealand Music Awards with another kiwi top-selling act, folk-jokesters Flight of the Conchords.

Swing topped the NZ charts in 2005 and went global last year after being featured in the blockbuster comedy Knocked Up, leading to a deal with Universal Republic records. Savage is repped by Dawn Raid Entertainment, the South Auckland hip hop powerhouse.

Swing is the first single from his new album Savage Island, due out in December, featuring guest artists and producers Akon, Soulja Boy, Rock City, Sean Paul and Boo Yaa Tribe.

The video is directed by Flyy Kai Crawford, who also directed Savage’s first hit Moonshine.

Kiwi star export drops in and wins
NZ Herald

Savage hits gold in US with “Swing” remix
Spasifik online

Shigeyuki Kihara at the Met

Taualuga: The Last Dance by Shigeyuki Kihara

Samoan-Japanese multimedia performance artist Shigeyuki Kihara brings her ground-breaking, gender-bending work to New York in the first solo exhibit by a Pacific artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kihara’s striking multidisciplinary work draws on diverse sources such as 18th Century ethnographic photographs, Samoan legends and pop culture images to riff on themes of gender, identity, indigenous Pacific spirituality, consumerism and cross-cultural encounters.

The exhibit includes work from her photographic series Black Sunday, Fa’a Fafine: In a Manner of a Woman, Fale Aitu: House of Spirits and Vavau: Tales from Ancient Samoa, in which Kihara investigates notions of representation by interpreting her own image in a variety of guises.

Kihara will perform her solo performance Taualuga: The Last Dance and speak about her work during October.

Shigeyuki Kihara: Living Photographs
October 7, 2008–February 1, 2009
Lila Acheson Wallace Wing, 1st floor
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artist bio at Pasifika Styles

Apron Strings

Sima Urale’s first feature premiers at NZ International Film Festival

Samoan/Kiwi director Sima Urale’s long-awaited first feature, Apron Strings, premiers at New Zealand International Film Festival in Auckland 10 July 08.

Apron Strings is a parallel story of two families from two cultures, Pakeha (New Zealand/European) and East Indian, set in suburban New Zealand.

Urale is best known for her acclaimed short films O Tamaiti, Still Life and Coffee & Allah, which screened at film festivals around the world.

The film explores the relationships between mothers and their fatherless sons, through the metaphor of food.

“Apron Strings isn’t simply a story about women,” says Urale. “It’s about their sons and the next generation; the changing face of New Zealand … and the age-old conflict between traditional and modern… which also reminds us we have more in common with each other across cultures than we think.”

Apron Strings stars British-Indian actress Laila Rouass (Footballers Wives) with Scott Wills (Perfect Creature, Stickmen), Jennifer Ludlum and Nathan Whittaker.

The film is produced by Rachel Gardner of Maxim Films and was written by Dianne Taylor and Shuchi Kothari. The cinematographer is Rewa Harre.

Tattooist US Release

Tatau spooks up the big screen in The Tattooist, a supernatural thriller with an evil Samoan spirit wreaking revenge over stolen tattoo tools. Jason Behr (Grudge) plays the white guy with hot brownies Robbie Magasiva (Sione’s Wedding), Mia Blake (No 2) and Dave Fane (Bro Town).

The film is a Singapore/New Zealand co-production produced by Robin Scholes (Once Were Warriors) with first feature director Peter Burger (Turangawaewae), shot by Leon Narbey (Whale Rider). It hit No 1. and $500K at the NZ box office in 2007.

Tattooist’s American release will be handled by Ghost House Pictures, horror genre label of Sam Raimi (Spiderman) and Rob Tapert (Xena), with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The distribution deal was done at AFM (American Film Market) with release slated for 2008.

Coming soon to a DVD near you.

The Tattoist trailer

Reviews

competent horror movie hanging off the bones of what might have been a really extraordinary New Zealand film

Dominion Post

major disappointment

bloody-disgusting.com

I love this movie

Yahoo member

Talofa Gary Cooper

Critics and audiences rave about My Name is Gary Cooper, latest act of theatrical subversion from Samoan-Kiwi writer Victor Rodger (Ranterstantrum, Sons) with preternatural Samoan hunk & muse Robbie Magasiva (Sione’s Wedding, Stickmen) in the title role. The play premiered at Auckland Theatre Company 20 Sept – 13 Oct 07.

Reviews

erotic, hilarious yet tragic
Theatreview

beneath the glibness is a tragic, soulful undertow
NZ Listener

+ it made me cry
+ emotional rollercoaster ride
+ an awesome play
Audience