MAN VILA - a film by Cecile Kielar and Eric Wittersheim
For decades, migrants from the island of Tanna have lived in the outskirts of Port-Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, contributing to the urban economy while holding strongly their cultural and social practices (vernacular language, cult of the ancestors, dances, chiefly authority…). A recent boom in real estate and tourism economy in Vanuatu is threatening their lifestyle and changing their social habits. The film shows the struggle of Chief Roy Iasul to feed his family as a hired taxi driver, and the rampant threat of expropriation as more and more land is dedicated to tourism and luxury homes for expatriates.
This film was premiered at the opening of the exhibition Port-Vila Mi Lavem Yu, co-curated with Haidy Geismar, at the East-West Center Art Gallery in Honolulu in May 2011.
It has been screened in several internationel festivals including the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) film festival in June 2013 in Edinburgh,
Island Dress - Vanuatu
March 2005
The mother of all rows has broken out in Vanuatu over the clothes of the islands' woman. Chiefs and churchman are determined to stop them wearing shorts.
Ever since the missionaries arrived, the preferred costume for local woman has been brightly coloured floral dresses. But this traditional island dress is being challenged by western fashions like shorts. Pastors are worried that this will lead to lewd behaviour. Now chiefs have started punishing woman who wear shorts, insisting they must kill a pig as a fine.
Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures
Prince Charles dons grass skirt for traditional ceremony in Vanuatu
Prince Charles has joked he will never again be able to fit into a pair of 'budgie smugglers' - skimpy swimming trunks - as he approaches his 70th birthday.
Speaking at an event in Brisbane attended by people celebrating the same milestone this year, the heir to the throne said he knew 'only too well' the 'strange feeling of disbelief' at reaching that age.
Confessing he did not feel like it was long since his parents were 70, he said: 'I do know only too well - and understand - the strange feeling of disbelief that this is actually happening and that never again, for instance, will it be possible to squeeze into a pair of budgie smugglers.
'I don't know about you, ladies and gentlemen, but now bits of me keep falling off at regular intervals.
''Don't worry', they keep telling me, 'you have brilliant genes'.
'But the trouble is I can't even get into them either!'
Charles, who made the speech at a reception hosted by the Governor of Queensland Paul de Jersey, turns 70 on November 14.
The prince also made a day trip to the South Pacific island of Vanuatu on Saturday - the fourth day of his week-long tour of Australia, the first three days of which he was joined by the Duchess of Cornwall.
On Vanuatu he might not have the god-like status of his father Prince Philip, but he was till honoured as a distinguished guest.
Donning a grass skirt and a white garland, the heir to the throne was made a high chief in a colourful ceremony.
In the tradition of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs, Charles took part in a series of rituals as he was given the high chief name of Mal Menaringmanu.
The prince also took a sip from a cup of special kava, known as Royal Kava, before planting two trees.
The drink is reserved for special occasions and was only last consumed when the Duke of Edinburgh visited the island in 1974.
He delighted the crowds - who had turned out in their thousands - with the traditional greeting of 'Halo yufala euriwan', meaning 'hello everybody'.
'My visit, while far too brief, has nevertheless allowed me to experience for myself the warmth, generosity and spirit for which the people of Vanuatu are so justly famed,' the prince said.
'Vanuatu, you are number one!'
Charles later had the chance to meet Jimmy Joseph, from the village of Yaohnanen, on the Vanuatuan island of Tanna, where Prince Philip is viewed as a divine being.
The Prince Philip Movement believes the Queen's husband is the man from one of their legends.
Charles warmly shook Mr Joseph's hand as he was presented with a gift.
Mr Joseph said: 'I gave him a walking stick for his father made by the hands of the Prince Philip Movement.
'I told him a lot of people in the movement have now died but there are some still living.
'The prince said he would deliver the message personally.'
Earlier, Charles had received a welcome befitting for an heir to the throne as he landed on the island at Port Vila.
Greeted by the locals in traditional dress and with painted faces, the prince smiled and waved as he walked across red ceremonial mats - one of the most deeply respected aspects of Vanuatu's traditions.
After meeting Vanuatu's president and being given the first of many traditional garlands, it was time for a spot of shopping, as Charles picked up a hat and a bag for wife Camilla at a handicraft market.
'They make such wonderful gifts, don't they,' he said, as he snapped them up for about £40 (6000 vatu).
Charles spent a while strolling through the Haos blong Handikraf market, admiring locally made products such as paintings, wooden sculptures and woven baskets.
Sovaki Zacharie, 19, who was lucky enough to chat to the prince at the market, said it was 'so special' to have Charles visit the island.
'We've only ever seen him in magazines, so to see him in real life makes me so happy,' she said.
Charles also visited Port Vila Central Hospital, which suffered extensive damage when tropical cyclone Pam hit in 2015, and praised the 'fantastic' recovery effort funded by the Australian government, including the refurbishment of operating theatres and the laboratory.
The prince will now fly on to Cairns before finishing his trip in Darwin.
He has emphasised his fondness for Australia, which he first visited 52 years ago.
'When I first came to Australia, Australian manhood was partly defined by how many schooners of beer you could line up on the bar - and drink - before the pubs closed early,' he said.
Highlighting once again the challenges faci
Yumi Danis (We Dance) project
Yumi Danis (We Dance) brings together dancers and musicians from Papua, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to explore their cultural connections and how these may be articulated to an international audience.
The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) is the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art's flagship exhibition focused on the work of Asia, the Pacific and Australia. The 8th edition emphasised the role of performance in recent art, with live actions, video, kinetic art, figurative painting and sculpture exploring the use of the human form to express cultural, social and political ideas, and the central role of artists in articulating experiences specific to their localities.
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The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8) / Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) Brisbane Australia / 21 November 2015 – 10 April 2016
Source: QAGOMA APT Archive
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