Samoan Ursula Grace Williams is a documentary film maker who is not afraid to step out of her comfort zone when it comes to telling a story, especially of Pasifika and Māori People.
From interviewing ex-convicts in her film ‘Deportees of Tonga: Gangster’s in Paradise (2019)’ – boasting over 10 million views worldwide – to sitting in the private homes of emotional Pacific Island families still living in affluent suburbs of central Auckland, in her documentary series ‘Still Here’, her documentaries are raw, real and relatable.
Ursula recalls of her time working on her film Deportees of Tonga: Gangster’s in Paradise (2019);
“A lot of these men, and generally men, have been dropped with just a stamp on their passport, they’ve got no land, they’ve got no language, they haven’t got traditional Tatau, they’ve got you know are gang affiliated (Tatoo).
“So a lot of the time they don’t get taken seriously and so when somebody is asking questions in a way that’s genuine and authentic, it just, I guess it just broke down some of the barriers.” She says.
It’s been almost 10 years since she started making films and shows no sign of slowing down, but telling these stories is not an easy feat.
“I think one thing that I’ve been thinking about recently a lot. If you make a film, it goes out to the world. People like it or not. It’s kind of treated as, you know, content,” Ursula says.
“But what it doesn’t capture is all the time that was spent, because you’re condensing a huge amount of time, into a small amount of time.”
And that’s very much the case for her new documentary film which has been over four years in the making. Called ‘Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds’, it follows Māori artist and performer Marlon Williams on his journey to write an album fully in te reo.
The film follows Marlon on tour internationally and around Aotearoa. Delving into his world and giving a glimpse of both his personal and professional life; his upbringing, navigating his relationship with his parents’ separate lives. reconnecting with his whanau, his iwi and his home. All the while learning Te Reo Māori and bravely writing heartfelt waiata’s for his new album.
Marlon, entrusting Ursula to document his journey.
“I only did it because I love her work, and I just respected the way she approached things, you know, going into it,” Marlon says.
“She’s very straight up and down, very committed to her vision of things and if you know, I definitely if I was ever going to do anything like this, it would have to be with someone who’s strong on what their kaupapa is, you know.”
Navigating two worlds is something that Ursula has lived with as well with her Samoan, Austrian and German heritage
“My Nana was born in Vaimoso, we’ve got ties to Afega, my great grandmother was from Saoluafata and my mum was born in Apia,” she says.
“That’s not people’s first assumption about me and that has created barriers and in the past because I am white passing so, I think it takes a conversation often to know that I’m on the same level; and the same, yeah, just… understanding.”
With its strong cultural context and music, it’s a film that will likely resonate with Māori and Pasifika audiences alike.
“Often, you know, so often is the case that diving back into your heritage, culture, lost languages is not commercially viable to do that. And so you know, you have to carve out time and space physically to kind of have those connective moments.” Says Ursula
The film is visually serene with beautiful locations around Aotearoa, it’s accompanied by Marlon’s lilting voice and waiata from his new album ‘Te Whare Tīwekaweka – A house In Disarray’, helping him in his Te Reo journey.
“I think on one level it was, I was using music as a third rail to help me enter te reo Māori you know.
“It’s because music’s a language I, you know, I play with a lot. It’s the most natural first language to me really,” Marlon says.
“There has been some really beautiful moments of growth for myself as well,” Ursula says.
“It definitely helps to fill a void of not knowing Samoan sometimes to connect with Te Reo and Te Ao Māori because there are so many similarities, you know. ‘Tasi, lua, tolu, fa, lima, ono, fitu, valu, iva, sefulu’.
“There is a connectedness there around Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa that is pretty evident.”
And ‘Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds’ is currently screening at select cinema’s around Aotearoa.
