Prolific, multi-award-winning film-maker Vea Mafile'o is a co-director of one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year: LOMU. She's also the latest person to face a 1News Grill.
What will be the biggest issue on your mind when you vote this November?
Funding for the arts and creative sector. I’d like to see greater recognition of the value our sector brings culturally, socially and economically and more sustainable investment in the people actually creating the work.
What’s one thing you learned about Jonah Lomu that would surprise people?
That he was a fluent Tongan speaker! I think a lot of people, even Tongans, would be surprised by just how Tongan Jonah was. That was something really special for me to discover while making the film.
What's something you learned from your Lomu co-director Gavin Fitzgerald?
Patience. Gav is much calmer and more methodical than me. I tend to run on instinct and emotion, so working with him reminded me there’s real value in slowing down and trusting the process.
Which three films have shaped you as a person?
The Wolfpack – I love intimate documentaries that allow you into worlds you’d otherwise never have access to. It really influenced the kind of storytelling I’m drawn to.
Minding the Gap – another documentary I love because it starts with something seemingly simple and slowly reveals these incredibly complex lives, relationships and trauma.
The Last of the Mohicans – I watched this film over and over as a teenager and it was probably one of the first times I understood the emotional power of cinema. The almost unspoken love between Alice and Uncas, and then that cliff scene, absolutely destroyed me. There was so little dialogue, but you felt everything. I think it taught me really early on that you don’t always need words to tell a powerful story, sometimes you just need to make people feel something.
Which group of people in Aotearoa deserves more attention?
People who are too often underserved or overlooked, particularly people living with disabilities, and Māori and Pasifika communities. I think we need to pay much more attention to who isn’t getting the same access to opportunities, resources and support, and why.
What's your worst character trait?
Probably my worst character trait is thinking I can do everything myself. I take on far too much and then eventually realise I’m not organised enough, don’t have enough time, or sometimes don’t even have the bloody skills to be doing half of it!
My default is always, ‘It’s fine, I’ll figure it out,’ which has somehow got me pretty far in life, but it also regularly gets me into trouble. I’m trying to get better at knowing when to hand things over to people who actually know what they’re doing.
What are three things you look for in a friend?
Chill, funny and someone I can have a good yarn with. I like people who are easy to be around, don’t take themselves too seriously and can make me laugh. Someone you can talk absolute rubbish with one minute and have a really deep conversation with the next. And obviously, someone who shows up when it matters. I don’t need perfect friends, just real ones.
What relaxes you after a hard day at work?
Lying in bed watching absolute trash, crime dramas, and, dare I say it, vertical dramas (designed to be watched on a phone0. Although, I’d love to create my own vertical series one day, so technically it’s research :). Basically, anything that requires zero brain power.
What was the last great book you read?
I actually don’t let myself read books anymore because I get completely addicted and HAVE to finish them. So I’d have to say the last great thing I read was a script… but it’s top secret.
What's one memory that lives rent-free in your head?
Probably one of the approximately 4000 embarrassing things I’ve said. I’m incredibly good at putting my foot in my mouth and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, so unfortunately quite a few moments live rent-free in there.
What's one vice you'd like to quit or reduce?
My phone. I would love to be one of those people who can just put it down and forget it exists. Unfortunately, I am not.
What are the five elements of your perfect weekend?
My kids, my family, somewhere near the ocean, preferably in the Islands, good kai and drinks and absolutely no bloody work.
LOMU is currently screening nationwide.
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