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Aspiring filmmaker Saito Lilo is anticipating the release of his first short film, The Last Sunday.
The Last Sunday is a coming-of-age story that explores how money affects Pacific communities and their churches. The film follows a Samoan teenager who is coming to a realisation of struggle within his family, and in his attempt to support his parents, he winds up paying the price.
22 year old Saito is of Samoan descent and hails from the villages of Gagaifoolevao, Matafa’a, Moata’a and Lotofaga. He is currently residing in Clendon and proudly calls South Auckland his home – the community that inspired the story behind his first short film, The Last Sunday.
“What drove the idea was just a question of money and church within our cultures and how these two aspects played a part in the way we were raised in South Auckland and Mt Druitt, Sydney,” Saito says.
“It was the raw and authentic feeling as a teenager of realising your parents could be judged by the amount of money they donate [to the church] that pushed me to write this.”
Originally a passion project in early 2021, Saito developed his script while studying at Unitec under the guidance of script writing tutor, Johanna Smith.
“[She] was an absolute pleasure to learn from,” Saito compliments.
“The script came naturally to me; the world, the characters, everything. The only challenging thing was figuring out what worked and what didn’t and experimenting with story structure.”
As a first-time director, Saito describes his director’s journey as a ‘rollercoaster’.
With Covid and time restrictions in the way, he was forced to re-cast a few of his characters during the pre-production stages. Fortunately, if there is one thing Pacific communities do well, it is to be there for their own when needed.
“I reached out to a few people for this film. In terms of extras, I used people from my church – shout out to Favona E.F.K.S – my family and my partner’s family,” Saito explains.
“The scenes that required a lot of bodies were a gamble, but people turned up to show love and support which I am extremely grateful for.”
For the main role, Saito considered his childhood friend and multi-talented entertainer Iavana Seuala.
“[We] attended the same intermediate a decade ago so we’ve known each other a long time,” Saito says.
“He is also a phenomenal dancer and I truly believe he will do amazing things in whatever artform he chooses to express himself in.”
“I wrote the main character with him in mind, so as soon as I knew this film was going up, I called him straight away.”
Others who were involved in bringing Saito’s vision to life were his brothers and established screen/theatre actors Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson and Italia Taualelei-Hunt.
“[They] brought knowledge, experience, and a different kind of professionalism to the table,” Saito shares.
“I also had the talented Talayna Tu’iha’angana who played her debut role. [She’s] a promising 12-year-old dancer [who] has shown throughout this film that she has a lot more to offer in the Arts world.”
Saito also had the help from his life-long friends Marino Vakatini-Evans as Cinematographer and Georgina Grey as Producer and Assistant Director (AD) as well as Larry Justice and Unitec.
“And last but never the least my parents, Popo and Sekini, who did more than just play a couple of key roles but nailed them whilst being patient with their son who got to be the boss for a day or two.”
Fresh to the scene of filmmaking, Saito struggled with articulating and expressing his thoughts, but with the help from an experienced filmmaker, he is on the road to perfect his craft.
“I was blessed to have been under the wisdom and knowledge of renowned filmmaker/artist Sima Urale, who was my directing tutor in my last year at Unitec. From her, I learnt to be confident, to be firm as a director but most importantly, to be myself. I applied myself this way during the making of this film and I honestly feel it paid off.”
With the announcement posted on his Instagram account just last week, Saito has received a handful of support and enthusiastic comments about his film.
One user commented: “First ticket buyer here..👏”, while another wrote: “😍🔥 can’t waaaait !!!!”. The reoccurring comment on Saito’s page were the fire emojis which only signifies the burning anticipation of his supporters to see his short film, The Last Sunday.
As a South Auckland story told on film, The Last Sunday draws on the importance of Pasifika stories being told through Pasifika lenses by Pasifika voices.
“We need more authentic stories and more voices to empower our communities [to create]. [It] also makes us question and reflect on ourselves,” Saito says.
“I think there are a lot of South Auckland stories out there that still need to be told on screen, a lot of East, West and Central Auckland stories as well.”
“The arts have been a part of us since the beginning of us, and South Auckland is a place full of it. South Auckland is also a place full of major talent. The amount of emerging young talent never stops, and it’s important we use and hold on to that and continue to nurture our young Pasifika/Māori to be great in whatever we do.”
Saito would like to thank everyone who has supported him this far – his family, Minister Rev. Fuata’i and Siloma Misiaita, and to everyone who dedicated themselves to this project.
