Vea is a freelance award-winning Director/ Producer. She is passionate about Pasifika arts, storytelling and nurturing Tongan filmmaking.
She has filmed extensively throughout the Pacific and New Zealand as a Production Designer, Camerawoman, Reporter, Director and Producer. Her feature documentary For My Father’s Kingdom had its world premiere at Berlinale 2019 alongside her short film documentary Toa`ipuapuaga and LIULU which she production designed. Recently she Directed NZFC Short Film Drama Lea Tupu’anga and this year made her debut TV drama directing on the NZOA Platnum funded The Panthers series. Vea was a nominee for the WIFT Woman to watch 2020 Awards and completed a four-month Directors Attachment on The Lord of the Rings Series. She is a founder of The Nuku’alofa film Festival and a founding member of Pacific Island screen artists (PISA). She is a practising artist who exhibits regularly. She has a BVA and PGDip in Moving Image installation from Auckland University and lives in Auckland with her partner and co-director of their Production company Malosi Pictures and their 3 young boys.
“As a woman, Mafile’o creates her own space for alternative media discussion”. Dominion Post, Mark Amery.
Vea reflected on her time at Hillcrest. I really enjoyed my years at Hillcrest High School, I really felt I had a good mix of friends and it was wonderful teachers like Mr Paitai from the whanau unit and Mrs Nicklson in the art room, both of whom I felt really understood me and gave me chances and the space I really needed to grow during my time there, even though I was always pushing the boundaries, I will always appreciate the safe spaces they allowed me to retreat to with in the school.
Vea has also just been announced as the New Zealand-based co-director of the Jonah Lomu documentary, Vea Mafile’o, told NZME it was intended as a “legacy” for Lomu.
“It’s a very complex story with a lot of moving parts,” she said. “But it will cover both the light and the dark parts of his life.” Mafile’o is from the same small Island in Tonga as Lomu and said being able to honour him in film was particularly special.
“I couldn’t not do this… My dad would kill me if I didn’t,” she said.
Mafile’o said it was too early to say exactly what the film’s focal point would be but she and co-director Gavin Fitzgerald were enjoying the process.
“My heart is in it for the cultural and family side of things, but Gavin, he just loves rugby. It’s a good mix and balance,” she said.
Mafile’o stressed that the documentary was a collaboration rather than a foreign production team coming in and taking over the storytelling about a national treasure.
However, the film is still in the “early days” of production, with Mafile’o remaining coy about its progress or release date.
