Underplayed Gems

Three Wise Cousins (2016)

Three Wise Cousins poster
Country
Samoa, New Zealand
Runtime
1h 29m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.5 of 10 from 2 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A young Samoan man living in New Zealand visits Samoa for the first time to meet his cousins and learn about his heritage. The film follows his humorous cultural journey as he discovers the importance of family and his roots.

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What happens

Three Wise Cousins is a 2016 Samoan comedic film directed by writer and director Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa, also known for other films such as Hibiscus & Ruthless, Take Home Pay and Mama’s Music Box, which mainly featured Pacific island life and ways of living. Although the film was shot on a “shoe-string budget” with a cast of unknown actors, Three Wise Cousins successfully racked up more than $1 million at New Zealand and Australian box offices. In its sixth week after being premiered in New Zealand, the film banked more than $700,00 at the box office. In addition, the film continues to get recognition from outside New Zealand as it was selected for the Audience Award at the Festival des Antipodes in France. Three Wise Cousins was inspired by the real experiences and Samoan upbringing of director Vaiaoga-Ioasa which were influenced by “lectures from his parents about the importance of acknowledging one’s own roots” and culture. By doing this, the director uses humour as an important tool to get the message across for the audience to not only enjoy the film but to also grasp the main themes highlighted from Adam's (protagonist) experience. As of now, the director continues to expand and promote his feature film to more audiences across the Pacific region and around the globe. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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