The festival featured 25 short films from a variety of genres and garnered 1 million views during the two-week period following its July 14 launch.

Maria was judged the Most Popular Film, determined by votes cast by viewers.

It centres around the loss and strain faced by a family after the passing of a young child.

The script was written by Taofia Pelesasais. Karin Williams produced the film which was was directed by Jeremiah Tauamiti.

The title role is played by Leiataua Si'ulepa who at 80 years-old is fast making a name for herself acting in New Zealand.

Maria is the matriarch of a large Polynesian family who lies bedridden and silent, unable or unwilling to speak after a long illness.

When a family crisis strikes, she gets some unexpected help as she struggles to reunite her fractured family.

Williams says the film is based on a true story from Pelesasais' own family and the passing of his niece.

He wrote the script as a tribute to the women of his ‘aiga - extended family - and their resilience.

He wanted to show the quiet strength of mothers who shoulder the burden of responsibility for elderly parents and young children, often in silence.

The film was shot in Pelesasais' home community of Rotorua, in New Zealand's North Island.

Watch the movie

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• RNZ
• PBS
• PBS
• FaceBook
• Image: Festival.vonline

He said that they are asking these religious groups to follow the proper channel and liaise with the village headmen.

"New religious and church groups are being set up in villages and they come in with principles and beliefs that have contradicted traditional protocol."

"We have received submissions in which villagers are concerned that more people turn up to do religious works and not so many when the village headman calls for duties to be done," he said.

"In villages today, when the village headmen calls for a meeting, hardly anyone turns up, but when there is a church job to carry out all church members attend."

"But these church members live in the villages and there are more financial levy collected for the churches rather than the vanua."

The issue has emerged in the course of a series of consultation meetings with district representatives.

Source

• fijitimes.com
• Image: i.ytimg.com

"With regards to same sex marriage over it is still, culturally not yet even accepting that."

"The culture and religion is strong here. It is going to, it will happen but I do not think it is going to happen in a very fast pace in the way it is taking place overseas."

Following America's legalisation of same sex marriage in July Loy Chong said, "The union between a man and a woman and its definition predated the State and church but now the bond had been defined as marriage.

"Firstly, it's for their own good, because of the complementary nature of the two sexes they bring wholesome to the other."

"Secondly its open to procreation and because of that their love overflows into the wider society; according to the church this is what we understand by marriage, any relationship that falls short of this cannot be called marriage."

Loy Chong is one of two Pasifika bishops representing the region at the Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome next month.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• fijitimes.com
• Image: fijione.tv