Empowering ‘Vai’ Arrives on Digital, Disc Aug. 27
‘VAI,’ THE STUNNING INTERNATIONAL FILM SENSATION,
DEBUTS IN THE US ON DVD and DIGITAL PLATFORMS
DEBUTS IN THE US ON DVD and DIGITAL PLATFORMS
“…’Vai’ has a lovely consistency of style and content that heightens the accessibility of its unique value as a combined effort among eight native female directors from eight different Pacific Island cultures..” – Variety
“What is clear is that Vai is a gorgeous, profound work of art, brilliantly assembled and filled with engaging performances.” – Hammer to Nail
VAI, the visually stunning and emotionally powerful study of one woman’s remarkable life told through eight directorial perspectives, will premiere in the US on digital on
August 27, 2019. The one-of-a-kind cinematic feast is fresh off the international festival circuit, where it received wide acclaim and award recognition. The film will also be available on DVD day and date.
The awe-inspiring VAI is a film about female empowerment, telling the story of one woman’s life in eight separate moments from the perspective of eight different Pacific Island cultures. Beautifully shot, celebratory and epic, at times heartbreaking and uplifting, VAI is a seamless portmanteau film directed by eight female Pacific directors, and starring eight actresses each playing the title role. The film was shot in such breathtaking locales as Fiji, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Kuki Airani (the Cook Islands), Samoa, Niue and Aotearoa (New Zealand).
VAI was the opening film at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival’s NATIVe section devoted to indigenous cinema, and an official selection at SXSW 2019. It was nominated for the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film at the Seattle International Film Festival, and was a Best International Feature Film nominee at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
VAI has scored a perfect “100%” score on film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Monica Castillo, writing at RogerEbert.com, said, “It isn’t just gorgeous, it feels spiritually poignant, a reaffirmation of cultural identity and a showcase of the strength of women’s stories.” Jennie Kermode of Eye for Film said: “Viewers in the West and the Global North are used to seeing women in films from elsewhere as victims or otherwise subjugated figures: VAImay surprise them.” Liam Maguren of Flicks.co.nz called the film “a bold experience that rightly highlights the need for more Pasifika cinema.”
VAI
Digital and DVD release date: August 27, 2019
Running time: 90 minutes
In English, Samoan, Tongan and Maori, with English subtitles
Not rated
