Made in Taiwan
Following a DNA trail, two Polynesian men travel thousands of miles across the Pacific and Asia to discover for themselves the origins of their people.
- Filmmaker(s)
- George Andrews
- Category
- Full-Length Film
- Subject Matter
- Science, Identity, Culture & Tradition
- Region
- Polynesia
- Length
- 45 Minutes
- Year
- 2013
- Website
- smileyfilmsales.com/filmdetails.php?id=43&type=1
In Made in Taiwan: Nathan and Oscar's Excellent Adventure, molecular biology leaves the classroom as the two central characters, Nathan Rarere and Oscar Kightley, both of Polynesian descent, take us on a journey across the Pacific and into Asia in search of their roots. During the course of the film, the two men take a simple DNA test which involves a swab in the mouth to reveal where their ancestors came from 30,000 years ago.
Nathan discovers that his mother, whose grandparents were originally from Cornwall, has a maternal lineage which stretches back to East Eurasia and America. In Samoa, Oscar expects his results to confirm his Polynesian roots, but is shocked to discover that his paternal lineage goes back to Central and South Eurasia. This discovery suggests Asian ancestry as his modern day descendants are found in the Middle East and the Himalayas.
With stunning photography of their Pacific to Asia voyage captured on HD, Nathan and Oscar replicate the journey taken by their ancestors in reverse, starting with the Cook Islands and Samoa, then Vanuatu, and ending eventually in Taiwan. There they are amazed by what they discover.
Made in Taiwan, He Hawai‘i Mau, and Keao are offered as one 60 minute package.
Available until September 2013 through NETA.
George Andrews is one of New Zealand's most respected producers with a career in film and television in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom which spans more than thirty years. Born in Wellington in 1943, he was educated at Wellington College and Victoria University (B.Com), he began his cinema career in London in 1965 as a screenwriter for the major film production company Associated British-Pathé in Wardour Street before returning to New Zealand to become a pioneer reporter and film director for the first generation of New Zealand television current affairs programmes.
In the early 1970s he was back in London as a writer and production assistant for BBC-TV News & Current Affairs. He returned to New Zealand in 1973 where he has worked ever since as a prolific producer, director and writer of factual material for television, with a special interest in historical and Pacific subjects. He is a three-times winner of the best documentary award, and in the 2002 New Year’s Honours he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to television. His series have screened in Europe, Australia and Asia. A former Head of Documentaries for Television New Zealand, he was also one of the founders of the independent TV3 network, now owned by Canwest.
Oscar Kightley is a member of the popular Polynesian comedy group The Naked Samoans, who also produce the award-winning animated series bro'Town, which airs regularly on Link TV. Like Made in Taiwan, bro'Town highlights the racial melting pot that is contemporary New Zealand.
FESTIVALS
BANFF High Definition Festival, Canada 2006
DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival, New Zealand 2006
FIFO Pacific International Documentary Film Festival, Tahiti 2007
A Man’s Shadow Film Festival – New Caledonia 2007
EIDF - EBS International Documentary Film Festival- Korea 2007
New Zealand Film Festival Hong Kong, 2008
AWARDS
Audience prize - FIFO 2007
Grand prize – FIFO 2007
Official selection – A Man’s Shadow Film Festival 2007
BROADCAST
TV3 ( New Zealand )
ABC Asia Pacific
Al Jazeera International
Link TV USA
EBS Korea
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