Private Project

Salamasina's Daughters

Salamasina’s Daughters is set in South Auckland, New Zealand, following two Samoan female chiefs, specifically orators, tulafale, a role traditionally for men only. Aruna Po-Ching follows a 73-year old grandmother and a cultural language teacher and we discover their challenges when speaking as a tulafale and what they are doing with their chief titles to serve their family and community.

  • Aruna Po-Ching
    Director
  • Aruna Po-Ching
    Producer
  • Tu'u'u Tulapou Olo
    Key Cast
    "Talent"
  • Apulu Mary Autagavaia
    Key Cast
    "Talent"
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 6, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    500 NZD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    New Zealand
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    1080p 25
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Aruna Po-Ching

Aruna graduated from South Seas Film & Television School in 2017 with a Diploma for Documentary Directing and Research.

Aruna has worked in the arts industry since 1990. She has worked as an actor on film, television, theatre and has sung in bands and musicals and is a professional Hawaiian hula practitioner featuring on TVc’s, dance festivals and MC at festivals in New Zealand and Australia.

Aruna continues working in film and is currently directing a short film documentary about NZ Hip Hop Summit. She also continues to work as an actor, dancer and teacher.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As early as I can remember, I attended many Samoan events and functions, wedding, funerals and birthdays with my mother. Most of these functions almost always had formal ceremonial speeches. As a first generation NZ-born Samoan, I became disinterested in these formal proceedings and traditional gift exchanges because I didn’t understand them.
As I grew older and living in Australia between 1995 – 2006, I was more removed from my Samoan culture, barely holding tight to the thin threads of my culture as a professional Polynesian dancer in Sydney. The thirst to learn more about my Samoan culture started to grow and attending the language classes was my attempt to quench my thirst of being a “better” Samoan woman.
Salamasina’s Daughters was my journey to understand these Samoan speech makers (orators), the new role that are bestowed upon women as talking chiefs, the tulafale, and what it means to two women of South Auckland to be a tulafale outside of Samoa.