Movies Similar to Fanihi: A Cultural Digest

Anote's Ark(2018)

How does a nation survive being swallowed by the sea? Kiribati, on a low-lying Pacific atoll, will disappear within decades due to rising sea levels, population growth, and climate change. This exploration of how to migrate an entire nation with dignity interweaves personal stories of survival and resilience.

7.2

Welcome to Kiribati(2012)

A oneminutesjr. workshop held in June 2012 in The Republic of Kiribati.

0.0

The Invisible Mammal(2025)

Against the backdrop of the sixth mass extinction, an all-woman team of biologists set out to save bats from a deadly fungal disease, but when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts their work, they are sent down a path of discovery that illuminates the connections between bat conservation and the spread of infectious disease.

0.0

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Tokelau: Living by the Sun(2011)

A short documentary on the upcoming conversion of the nation of Tokelau to 100% solar power.

0.0

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Paradise Found: The Phoenix Islands(2008)

In a remote corner of the Pacific, the nation of Kiribati has created the world's largest marine reserve, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area. The reserve covers 410,500 square kilometers and is home to thriving coral reefs and abundant sea life, including sharks and manta rays.

0.0

The Life of a Greater Horseshoe Bat(2014)

There is a fabulous colony of Greater Horseshoe Bats in the heart of the Camargue. This species of bat is one of the most amazing. A true little clown equipped with the very latest biological technologies, the Greater Horseshoe Bat is as rare as it is mysterious. "The life of a Greater Horseshoe Bat" invites you to share the life of a young female and her mother, for better or for worse...

10.0

Waiting for John(2014)

If you had never heard of an airplane, would you think it was a miracle when one arrived? Waiting for John tells the story of America's incredible impact on a remote island in the South Pacific and the birth of an extraordinary religion, the John Frum Movement, considered the last surviving cargo cult. We follow the John Frum believers today as they struggle to preserve a culture in danger of being lost to the modern world.

0.0

Papa Mau: The Wayfinder(2010)

A documentary that takes a retrospective look at the influence of Mau Piailug, a native from the tiny Micronesian atoll of Satawal, in reviving the art of non-instrument navigation in Polynesia. Relying solely on his knowledge of celestial bodies, oceanic currents, and natural markers, Mau guided the traditional sailing canoe Hokulea on a 1976 voyaging to Tahiti, a journey not completed in more than 600 years. For Native Hawaiians, this expedition signaled an exodus from the cultural doldrums of the previous century. Sail along on this remarkable journey and share Mau's story of reinvigoration, reconciliation, and redemption of a people as the master wayfinder and teacher that breathed life back into the sails Polynesia's voyaging tradition.

5.5

Voice of the Islands(2017)

A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Walt Disney Animation Studios' MOANA, as aided by the Oceanic Story Trust.

1.0

Suva: 'Pride of Fiji'(1940)

James A. FitzPatrick takes a tour of the Fiji Islands. The short depicts the different types of natives that inhabit the islands, and shows villages that have not been changed in architecture for centuries. There are ceremonial dances, and FitzPatrick politically-correctly describes the rule of the islands under the British government.

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Blind Bombing, Filmed by a Bat(2020)

During WWII, the Japanese army developed experimental balloons able to cross the Pacific Ocean and reach the West Coast of North America in 3-6 days. Armed with explosives, they were given the code name fu-go, or fusen bakudan (“fire balloons,” or balloon bombs) in an attempt to instill a culture of fear like that caused by the far more deadly American firebombing of Japanese cities. The U.S. responded by enacting a censorship campaign, requesting newspapers avoid reports of fu-go landings or sightings. Living near the remains of a fu-go launch site in Fukushima Prefecture, Takeuchi mimics their flight take-off using a drone camera, and, traveling to North America, follows their arrival across the shoreline and rural landscapes, using a bat’s echolocation as narrative device to place fu-go and Fukushima as echos across history.

0.0

Banner Bandits(2017)

During the most celebrated cultural event on the island of Guam, USA (the annual Liberation Day Parade), a group of brave and determined youth come together to effect policy change on the use of alcohol and tobacco signage island-wide.

0.0

Criminal Record: Zoo-Kept(2023)

Seven vicious creatures are interviewed on account of their crimes against humanity in this unhinged spoof of Nick Park's "Creature Comforts"

8.0

Like a Mighty Wave(2019)

On Wednesday, July 17th 2019, a heavily armed police force arrested 36 Native Hawaiian kūpuna peacefully protecting Maunakea from desecration. The actions from that day sparked an international outcry and brought new life to the ongoing movement for Native Hawaiians’ rights for self-determination.

9.0

Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege(2005)

Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.

0.0

Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation(1993)

This hour-long documentary is a provocative look at a historical event of which few Americans are aware. In mid-January, 1893, armed troops from the U.S.S Boston landed at Honolulu in support of a treasonous coup d’état against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen Lili‘uokalani. The event was described by U.S. President Grover Cleveland as an "act of war."

9.0

Kiribati: The President's Dilemma(2010)

The Pacific islands of Kiribati were among the last places to be colonized by humans. But now, because of rising sea levels, they may be among the first to be abandoned. Should Kiribati President Anote Tong surrender to climate change and evacuate? Can anything be done to help him buy more time?

0.0

Iwo Jima: From Combat to Comrades(2015)

For the men who fought perhaps the fiercest battle of WWII, seventy years have passed. But the memories of those 36 bloody days on Iwo Jima have not. In the spring of 2015, survivors of both sides of the battle returned for the last time to join a Reunion of Honor — a unique, now-peaceful fellowship first forged of fire and bullets.

0.0

Back to the Roots(1994)

Kalo (taro) production on each of the major islands of Hawai'i circa 1994. Meet the amazing people who love and continue to cultivate taro on lo'i that in some cases has been in the family for generations and centuries! Young, old, and family growers on Maui, Moloka'i, Hawai'i, O'ahu, and Kaua'i islands. Includes history/culture of kalo, Issues related to land and water, uses of kalo, and prospects for the future.

0.0

Bachiranun(2021)

On Yonaguni Island, the westernmost island of Japan, there is a language in danger of disappearing. How far can we take the language, culture and history that are being quietly forgotten at the edge of Japan? A semi-documentary fantasy full of life force.

5.5