Samoans Out of Space

A “Shakey Coconuts” FILM
WRITTEN BY Jason Taouma

In 2016 American Astronaut Sione Williams will be the first Samoan to achieve space flight…. This is not his story but the story of those he leaves behind.

Samoans Out of Space is a comedy drama documenting the reaction of Sione William’s family here in New Zealand as they come to terms with the fact that their Aiga will be the first Samoan in Space. At the beginning of our story we find Sam Williams, Sione’s uncle and his domineering wife Maria and her family, the Vaiaso’s seemingly living happily in Otahuhu Auckland with their two children Mo and Joanna as well as Sione’s younger brother, Preston Williams, who has recently arrived from the states to live with them. Though they put on a smiling show all is not entirely what it seems however and slowly through various fly on the wall interviews and observations we learn about their hopes and dreams and in turn their fears as we begin to unearth a forbidden secret that has haunted the family for generations. As well as this Aunty Mialofa might be an agent for the Mormon church and Uncle Joe, Otahuhu’s self proclaimed prophet of a new age, has started to sell t-shirts promoting the event a worrying sign of trouble. Using comedy as a vehicle for it’s message, Samoans Out of Space is a fascinating exploration into the social economic difficulties facing us all for, as we encounter the story of each protagonist, we find that these truly are Samoans ‘out of space’.