Reel Paradise
A funny thing happened to my homies back in Taveuni on the way to the coconut plantation. An indie film crew made a movie in Waiyevo. No, I'm not kidding. Back in 2002 a feature length documentary called Reel Paradise was made in Taveuni. No, it wasn't an Oscar contender and it most likely never made it to your neighborhood multiplex. Nonetheless, it was one of the first movies ever made in Fiji where the landscape (much less the culture) served as more than a backdrop.
Synopsis
Reel Paradise tells the story of John Pierson's family at the end of a year-long adventure on a remote island in Fiji where they ran the 180 Meridian Cinema, 
showing free movies to the locals. John Pierson is a noted indie film maven, author of the widely celebrated book, Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes, who together with his wife Janet created the IFC cable show Split Screen. On one story for the show, John and family went to Fiji in search of the "world's most remote movie theater."
John decided he wanted to move with his family to Fiji and observe what movies meant to this country on the other side of the world. He also saw this adventure as an opportunity to plunge his two kids, Georgia (16) and Wyatt (13), into a culture and lifestyle far different from that of their home outside New York City.
Filmed during the last month of the family's yearlong stay in Fiji, Reel Paradise aims to reveal something of what the whole year has been like for the Piersons. The rural island of Taveuni is not one of Fiji's prime tourist destinations. Like most of the south Pacific islands, its people struggle to eke out a subsistence living as farmers, fisherman, and merchants. To the local Fijians, the Piersons are thought to be millionaires, because they are able to live in a large colonial home and show movies for free. (The home is indeed impressive by Fijian standards, though barely acceptable by middle-class western standards.)
The Piersons grant the filmmakers unusually intimate access to the family's home life. The result is a frank portrait of a very American family abroad. We see the struggles between Georgia and her parents around typical issues for American 16 year-olds, now exacerbated by living in a culture in which children are never expected to talk back to parents. Yet, Georgia's friend Miriama prefers to stay with the Piersons instead of her own family where the father has been violent towards her and her mother. We also see that though Wyatt may be the quiet obedient student at school, he can be a tough and ruthlessly funny critic of his father and mother at home. Through it all, we see Janet playing the role of peacekeeper, the voice of reason during a particularly tumultuous last month abroad.
By the end of the film, we see how the Piersons have both been changed and unchanged by their experience. As unusually candid subjects, the family does not sugarcoat their feelings towards each other or their experience in Fiji. But underneath it all, there is no mistaking their affection for both.
Rob's Review
To see that, check out Reel Paradise, a movie about the saga of American film maker maker John Pierson who in 2002 relocated his family (see photo at right) to Taveuni for a year to show free movies at the venerable Meridian Cinema near Waiyevo. This is the Fiji that the Fiji Visitors Bureau doesn't publicize. I would definitely rent this flick (not so much to see the inner workings of the Pierson 
family) but to see a raw slice of Fijian life. I've always thought that just about everyone in Fiji is a living institution worthy of a bit part in a film and Reel Paradise captures it all--from the good hearted Fijian cook to the drunken, half wit "local European" landlord. (Let's not forget the self-righteous priest worried about cultural contamination from the American interlopers). The warts and all are there for the world to see about the Pierson family and some facets of Fijian life. However, it's by no means a negative film. There's plenty to like about the verite aspects of this film. Thankfully there's no phony sentimentality for the plight of the "noble savage".
There's plenty of dirty laundry aired but it's equally distributed among the Piersons and the Fijians. John and Janet Pierson are not to be confused with Ozzie and Harriet Nelson nor are their Fijian neighbors always perfect models of propriety. The director doesn't do anyone any special favors, he simply tells the story of a American family transplanted in the backwaters of Waiyevo. Nobody is perfect around here but despite the occasional crime and misdemeanor people are pretty damn civil and their their good qualities shine through.
At the end of the film the Piersons' sit, cross-legged, Fiji-style at a good bye party given by the local village in their honor and drink kava. The couple proclaim what
they've learned after being in country for a year --that Fiji may be poor in material wealth but is incredibly rich in heart. Indeed, more heart than you're ever likely to find in Hollywood. If you click on the Reel Paradise link above you'll be able to see a trailer of the film.
Read what other reviewers have to say...
Bios of the principals…
STEVE JAMES (director, producer, editor) is best known as the award-
winning director, producer, and co-editor of Hoop Dreams, which swept every major documentary award of 1994, among them, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and the Peabody Award. James recently served as an executive producer, story director, and series editor on The New Americans, a seven-hour miniseries on the lives of contemporary immigrants that aired to critical acclaim on PBS in 2004. The series won two Golden Hugos at the Chicago International Television Festival and recently won the 2004 Independent Documentary Association Award for Best Limited Series for Television.
In 2002, James produced, directed and edited Stevie, which won the coveted grand jury prizes at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and the Philadelphia Film Festival, and won major prizes at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. The acclaimed film was released theatrically and landed on more than a dozen "Ten Best Films of 2003" lists. (Above photo Steve James (on left) flanked by his subject, John Pierson.).
JOHN PIERSON (executive producer, subject) graduated from NYU Film 
School in January 1977. Twenty- five years later, he left America behind to show free movies at the world's most remote theater, Fiji's 180 Meridian Cinema. In between, he played many pivotal roles in bringing the work of first-time filmmakers like Spike Lee, Michael Moore, Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater to the screen, a portfolio that Premiere called "a virtual hit parade of the independent movement." These tales are chronicled in John's book Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema, revised and reissued in 2004 as Spike Mike Reloaded. Peter Biskind calls it "the bible for independents."
He was also creator and host of Split Screen, a half-hour magazine-format television show on IFC. Over its four year run, Split Screen spawned features ranging from The Blair Witch Project to How's Your News? Often in partnership with his wife and Grainy Pictures co-president Janet Pierson, John has directed film festivals, staged annual film workshops, and formed a completion funding company. He also executive produced Chasing Amy and once acted opposite Chris Noth.
The Piersons now live in Austin, TX where John teaches in the UT film department and is preparing a Split Screen box set with Aspyr Media.
JANET PIERSON (executive producer, subject), co-president of Grainy 
Pictures, has partnered with her husband John Pierson professionally since 1986. In 2002-2003, they showed free movies at the world's most remote cinema in Taveuni, Fiji. She was co-creator, executive producer and occasional segment director of their magazine-format cable television series, Split Screen. Earlier projects include staging the Cold Spring Film Workshop and serving as producer reps and/or investors in over two dozen original American independent features like She's Gotta Have It, Roger & Me, Slacker, and Clerks. From 1981 to 1986 she was assistant director of NYC's Film Forum. In 1977-1979 she ran Canyon Cinema Cooperative in S.F. She attended Hampshire College, graduating with a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1977. Having recently relocated to Austin with her famiily, Janet is now on the board of the Austin Film Society.
More cool stuff about Reel Paradise...
Meet the cast…
See the trailer and clips.
Catch this Interview with John and Janet Pierson
Find out where Reel Paradise is being screened and see what free movies were shown in Taveuni at the Meridian Theater.
Read more about Taveuni, where the film was shot, on Fijiguide.com.
Order the film from Amazon:
(All photos courtesy of photographer Amy C. Elliott and the Reel Paradise crew).