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Unbelievable and overwhelming – that’s what Lupeti Finau thinks about his being a part of the new film Red, White & Brass.
Premiering on Tuesday night at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre, which will be decked out in red and white – the Tongan flag’s colours – along with its surrounds for the occasion, the new film explores the incredible true story of how a Tongan church group formed a brass band to get into a 2011 Rugby World Cup game at Wellington’s regional stadium.
The film was made completely in the capital and has an all-Tongan cast, among them many of Wellington’s Wesley Methodist Church brass band’s members like Finau, who plays the E flat tuba.
To coincide with the premiere, the band will play a special performance at the event.
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It’s a full circle moment for many of the band’s original members: in 2011, three wives were pregnant at the same time. Now, their three boys are part of the band. And many of the original group members star as extras in the film.
BRUCE MACKAY/Stuff
Many members of the original 2011 band feature in the film, which has an all-Tongan cast. Pictured, members of the current brass band rehearse ahead of the film’s premiere.
“We got to relive 2011 again. It felt like we had stepped back in time,” said Lupeti.
On Tuesday night, those people will reunite again – on the red carpet. And across New Zealand’s main centres this week, free screenings will be shown in schools with large Pasifika rolls.
“There’s so much that’s been woven into this movie that adds to the realness of this film,” Finau said. “It’s unreal because a lot of our community is on there. Usually with stuff like that it’d be in a home movie … with this, it’s our community on the big screen.”
RNZ
If you’ve ever been in Auckland or Wellington when the Tongan national Rugby Union or League team is playing you’ll know how passionate their fans are. (Audio broadcast March 2023).
A community initiatives manager for the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Finau was chosen to play the leading part of Uncle Siale after his brother and film co-writer/producer Halaifonua (Nua) Finau asked him if he wanted to audition for a separate role.
Lupeti loves movies, but never in a million years did he think he’d ever be in one. “I had to learn how to walk,” the father of four said, laughing.
Film graduate Glen McLaughlin was on a benefit when the production was about to begin, but ended up operating the smoke machine and helping with the art department after being selected as one of four interns through a Wellington Unesco City of Film scheme.
BRUCE MACKAY/Stuff
Members of the Wesley Methodist Church brass band. Lupeti Finau, pictured centre front smiling, says the film is a celebration of Tongan spirit and community.
His degree taught him “how to complain about movies, not how to make them”, he says. Now, McLaughlin is making moves to turn film production into a career.
The familial, welcoming vibe brought to set by the large contingent of Tongan cast and crew permeated off camera, McLaughlin said.
The film was like a “time capsule” for the Tongan community in Wellington, Lupeti said – there for future generations to see what their ancestors had to go through, and the power of the Tongan community in supporting each other and coming together for one of their own.
PIKI FILMS/Supplied
Red, White and Brass was filmed in Wellington. From left: Mikey Falesiu, John-Paul Foliaki, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi.
Much Tongan history is oral, which makes Red, White & Brass that much more special.
“My great, great-grandchild will see this film, see my face, hear our voices. That’s their history,” Lupeti said. “It’s something to look back on with pride.”
Red, White & Brass opens in theatres on Thursday.
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