The Land Has Eyes (Rotuman: Pear ta ma ʻon maf) is a 2004 Rotuman-language Fijian film written and directed by Vilsoni Hereniko. It is the first ever (and so far only) feature film from Rotuma.

Plot

The main character, Viki (Sapeta Taito), is a young Rotuman woman shamed as the daughter of a man wrongly accused of being a thief. She finds inspiration in a mysterious "Warrior Woman" (Rena Owen) from her people's legends.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on Rotuma, homeland of director Vilsoni Hereniko. Lead actress Sapeta Taito is Rotuman, and The Land Has Eyes is her first film appearance. She had, in fact, never seen a film before acting in this one. Rena Owen is best known for playing the lead female role in Once Were Warriors. The film also stars John Fatiaki as a corrupt court official.

Reception

The Land Has Eyes was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004, as well as a number of other international film festivals. It was Fiji's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards. The Star Bulletin (Hawaii) praised the film, "made on a shoestring budget". The Honolulu Advertiser noted that it "received an enthusiastic reception from the audience" at the Sundance Festival. A reviewer for the Advertiser explained that "All but two cast members were recruited from Rotuma. Most had never seen a movie before, much less acted in one. When the film was finished, Hereniko brought it back to Rotuma, borrowed a sheet from the hospital to use as a screen, and showed it eight times around the island." The reviewer recommended the film, and concluded: A reviewer from the Seattle Weekly wrote: The Land Has Eyes received the "Best Overall Entry" award at the 2005 Wairoa Maori Film Festival, and the "Best Dramatic Feature" award at the 2004 ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.