Young, Gifted and Samoan

Dionne Fonoti, is an amazing filmmaker. Her very first film entitled Young, Gifted, and Samoan is a must see! I had the chance to meet her yesterday and to sit in on a showing and a discussion of her film in the Pacific Islander American Experience course at the University of Utah. The film showcases the talent and intellect of three young Samoan males who seek to defy the present day stereotypes of what it means to be Pacific Islander in America.

If you are interested in ordering her film, you can contact her at dionnefonoti@gmail.com.



Here is a brief film review by my colleague Dr. Keith Camacho (Professor at UCLA)

Film Review: Young Gifted & Samoan

Only a handful of documentary films explore the lives of Pacific Islander communities residing in the continental United States. Even fewer films analyze Pacific Islanders in roles other than their popularly perceived stereotypes as athletes, criminals or entertainers. In Young, Gifted and Samoan, Samoan filmmaker Dionne Fonoti has created a film that defies contemporary media assumptions about the attitudes and behaviors of Pacific Islanders. Focusing on Samoan youth in San Francisco, California, Fonoti shows how young Samoan men have come to embrace leadership roles in their respective communities. In this half-hour film, she interviews Pekisale Brian Ieremia (a recording artist), Iakopo “Kopo” Leaso Sao (a community outreach coordinator) and Andrew “Drew” Van Va’i (an activist poet).

From their voices, Fonoti creates a narrative in which artistic innovation, community responsibility, oral history, political consciousness and social change blend into the very fabric of what it means to be young, gifted and Samoan in present-day San Francisco. I strongly recommend this film to anybody who would like to engage more closely in the complex and diverse lives of Samoans in the continental United States. The film is an important, timely and refreshing piece
of cinematic work.

Keith L. Camacho
University of California, Los Angeles