Patutiki: The Guardians of Marquesan Tattoo

Heretu Tetahiotupa
"When I tell people where I’m from, they don’t know the Marquesas Islands, yet they have our tattoos." Born as far away from television and the movies as one could possibly be in 1992, Heretu grew up in a Polynesian paradise, a secluded bay with no cars, little electricity, no TV or video; a place time marked by the passing seasons of mango and breadfruit, by tropical bird migrations and summer storms; a place where it was just as easy to fish for dinner or hunt wild pig and goat than it was to walk or horseback over the volcanic ridge into the neighboring village.

Raised in the midst of a Marquesan cultural renaissance, surrounded by rediscovered music, dance, sculpting, tapa, and tattoo, Heretu was particularly drawn to music. He was eventually introduced to television, mostly Tahitian news, broadcasts of old French and American episodics, and evening movies. He decided to learn to make television. His stint as an editor with Tahiti News eventually taught him the skills needed to produce, direct, shoot and edit several short films. In 2012, his short, Make the Kitchen Groove, won prizes for Best Screenplay, Best Film and the Jury Prize at Tahiti’s Vini Film Festival. In 2015, he co-directed the short film Hakamanu (Bird Dance), revealing the grace and power of this ancient Marquesan dance of courtship. Presented in 2016 at France’s Rochefort Film Festival, Hakamanu was broadcast over French television that same year. Telling the story of Patutiki was a natural next step, aiding his people in efforts to reclaim their traditions.

Christophe Cordier
How does a young Frenchman combine his love for exotic cultures, guitar playing, and photography? From Paris, Christophe enlisted as a middle-school music teacher for French Overseas Territories, got assigned to various nations, immersed himself in each nation’s culture, found and developed a local band, composed their music, produced their first albums, made music videos, propelling the group and their music into local champions. But neither South America’s French Guyana nor the Indian Ocean’s island of Reunion captivated him as much as the South Pacific’s Marquesas. Just as with painter Paul Gauguin and singer Jacques Brel before him, Christophe felt compelled to capture and share with the world the essence of this extraordinary culture and its generous, simple people. So while producing the Marquesan band, Takanini, he met young musician and filmmaker, Heretu Tetahiotupa. They soon discovered a shared purpose, sealing their bond and giving birth to their production company, Eka Eka. Patutiki, their first collaboration and for each their first documentary, won this year’s International Oceanic Documentary Film Festival’s (FIFO) Audience Prize.