PBS Hawaii – Pacific Heartbeat Anthology Series – “For My Father’s Kingdom”

From PBS Hawaii:

Now in its tenth season, the anthology series PACIFIC HEARTBEAT brings the authentic Pacific – people, cultures, languages, music and contemporary issues – to your screen. This new season presents four new documentary films recounting diverse aspects of pacific lives, and two encore presentations that delve into the spiritual and cultural world of hula, Hawaiʻi and beyond.

In this documentary, director Vea Mafile‘o’s Tongan father Saia drives this deeply personal film. Pensioner Saia Mafile‘o’s dedication to raising large amounts of money for Misinale (an annual church donation celebration) upset his children and splintered his marriage. Vea raises thorny questions about the relationship between money and the church in Tongan culture – questions that caused her Kiwi/Tongan family pain. She returns to Tonga to attend the Misinale and learn why the financial sacrifice matters to her father.