Burning of the Gods (2022)
With his island at risk from industrial tourism and environmental degradation, a boy travels back in time to reconnect with his ancestors.
An airplane lands. A massive cruise boat anchors off the reef, disgorging tourists for tropical island vacations. This postcard paradise depends on petroleum imports to fuel its cars, motorbikes, boats, hotels, pumps and machinery. Yet if the tourists stopped coming, what then? The film opens with the prophetic words of Niuean artist John Pule and continues as a visual tone poem, without dialogue or narration, moving forward into the past to ask questions about the future. A young man travels back in time, from luxury resorts and lagoon tours through pandemic and population exodus, to early Christianity when missionaries incinerated his island’s atua and marae. Finally he reconnects with his tīpuna who settled the island a thousand years ago.
Cast
- Te Marama Rio - Tama
- Terepoto Williams - Papa
- Anna Rasmussen - Mama Enua
Keywords
new zealand, cook islands, aotearoa
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Burning of the Gods about?
- An airplane lands. A massive cruise boat anchors off the reef, disgorging tourists for tropical island vacations. This postcard paradise depends on petroleum imports to fuel its cars, motorbikes, boats, hotels, pumps and machinery. Yet if the tourists stopped coming, what then? The film opens with the prophetic words of Niuean artist John Pule and continues as a visual tone poem, without dialogue or narration, moving forward into the past to ask questions about the future. A young man travels back in time, from luxury resorts and lagoon tours through pandemic and population exodus, to early Christianity when missionaries incinerated his island’s atua and marae. Finally he reconnects with his tīpuna who settled the island a thousand years ago.
- Who directed Burning of the Gods?
- Burning of the Gods was directed by Karin Williams.
- Who stars in Burning of the Gods?
- Burning of the Gods stars Te Marama Rio, Terepoto Williams, Anna Rasmussen.
- How long is Burning of the Gods?
- Burning of the Gods has a runtime of 7m (7 minutes).
- What genre is Burning of the Gods?
- Burning of the Gods is a Drama film.