Directed by Jeremiah Tauamiti, Vea Mafile'o
The church of Tonga demands donations, especially from those who have left the country. This personal documentary follows the family of Saia Mafile’o who, decades after moving to New Zealand, still dedicates his life and money entirely to his homeland.
Germany Berlinale (NATIVe) 
USA Seattle International Film Festival Germany USA 
One of my earliest jobs included writing a series of books about Pacific peoples in NZ. I did so entirely on the basis of statistics, fairly ignorant of the broader context, and with little understanding of the challenges of the diaspora, particularly as it relates to the church.
This documentary, centered on one Tongan family in South Auckland, shows just why a palangi like me had no business writing anything of the sort. For My Father’s Kingdom explores the complexity of lives lived spanning more than one culture and more than one land. Uncharacteristically for me, I’ll keep my views on organised religion to myself, but I do recommend this film packed full of emotion and honesty as it takes a…
Really interesting culture on display here. A little different to what I thought it would be, but I liked learning more about the Tongan way.
Introduction
On creuse loin dans les pays 😀 la petite pépite tongienne 🇹🇴 en bien. Alors euh 😂 le film était en espagnol et y avait aucun sous-titre, même anglais 😂 donc j'ai pas compris grand-chose mais lv2 espagnol m’a carry, j'ai quand même compris l’essentiel 💪🏽 mrc à ma prof la mexicaine qui était trop fraîche.
En vrai, le fait de galérer avec la langue, ça m'a forcé à ressentir le truc, et c'était cool comme expérience 🤠
TounsiGolmon
Alors en regardant le film, j'avais pas capté que c'était un documentaire, je pensais que c'était fictionnel jusqu'à ce que je voie le gros "documentary" sur Letterboxd mdrr.
Je suis un énorme consommateur de documentaires, mais c'est la première fois…
emotionally absent dad who all The Boys™️ love
A very honest story on Tongan culture and seeing the deep rooted context behind why our migrant parents do the things they do, and how it’s given us kids better opportunities in NZ. Mistakes happened, sacrifices were made, but nonetheless it was all for love. Two different generations meet in the middle, and to understand is to sit down, talk, and even forgive. An underrated privilege for sure!
It’s really important, especially now, to have Pasifika and POC voices in the industry to be heard unfiltered, and seeing a film like this, which went all the way to Sundance, fills me with pride for my people and for the filmmakers that put in the effort to make it so.
It was a wonderful watch— my mum loved it lol
I have thoughts but I am too delirious from my 24 hours of travel to put them together
Tonight at the Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct I got to watch For My Father's Kingdom, a documentary focused on Saia Mafile'o and his family, but more specifically his dedication to his church and religion, his family's connection to their Tongan heritage, as well as the somewhat rocky nature of his adult life and the divide his dedication has caused in his family.
First off, I just want to briefly touch upon what a great event this was. Organised by the lovely people at LURSACE (Logan Underdog Regional Screening and Community Events), and held at the lovely Kingston Cultural Precinct, it was incredible to watch this film amongst an audience of such lovely, passionate people. After the screening we got…
“I can go in peace knowing I do my best all the time” 😭😭😭
We need more stories like this!!
This is a magnificent documentary that really touched me as a diaspora kid. Malo aupito film makers!!!
made me think a lot about my relationship with my dad and how we don't often have deep conversations, nor do i know that much about his own life before i came along
NZIFF #19This is an important film for so many reasons, the least of which is adressing identity. We need to have storytelling like this to bring to light more understanding, more questions and more conversation. How brave to make a documentary like this about your own family!
