Vilsoni Hereniko: Difference between revisions

| birth_date = {{bdabirth date and age|1954|10|13}}

| occupation = Professor at [[University of Hawai'iHawaiʻi]]

| alma_mater = [[University of the South Pacific]]<br>{{nowrap|[[University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne]]}}

'''Vilsoni Hereniko''' (born October 13, 1954) is a [[FijiRotumans|Fiji IslanderRotuman]] [[playwright]], [[film director]] and [[academic]]. He was the writer and director of FijiRotuma's first ever (and so far only) [[feature film]], ''[[The Land Has Eyes]]'' (''Pear ta ma 'on maf'').

Hereniko is a [[Rotumans|Rotuman]], born in Mea village, Hapmak, Itu'ti'u District, [[Rotuma]], [[Fiji]]. He was schooled in his native Rotuma, obtained a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree and a Graduate Certificate in Education from the [[University of the South Pacific]] in 1997, a [[MastersMaster's degree]] in Education at the [[University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne]], and, in 1991, a [[PhD]] in literature and language at the University of the South Pacific.<ref name="thelandhaseyes.com">[http://www.thelandhaseyes.org/director.html Biography on the website of the film ''The Land Has Eyes'']</ref> <ref>[http://www.hawaii.edu/cpis/people_3.html Biography on the website of the University of Hawai'iHawaiʻi]</ref> He is now a [[professor]] at the [[University of Hawai'i]]'s Center for Pacific Islands Studies]] at the [[University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]], where he teachersteaches literature, theatre and film.<ref name="thelandhaseyes.com"/>

Hereniko published his first plays in the mid-1970s, including ''Don't Cry Mama'', ''A Child For Iva'', ''Sera's Choice'' and ''The Monster''. In 1997 he received the [[Elliott Cades Writing Award]] for his overall contributions to literature.<ref name="thelandhaseyes.com"/>

Hereniko has served on the jury and selection committee of the [[Hawai‘i International Film Festival]]. ''[[The Land Has Eyes]]'', set in his native Rotuma, was his first feature film, in 2004. It was presented at the [[Sundance Film Festival]] in 2004,<ref>[http://www.thelandhaseyes.org/festivals.html "''The Land Has Eyes'' at film festivals and special events"], official website</ref> and was FijiRotuma's official submission to the 2006 Academy Awards.<ref>[httphttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390179/ IMDB]</ref> It received the "Best Overall Entry" award at the 2005 [[Wairoa Maori Film Festival]], and the "Best Dramatic Feature" award at the 2004 [[Toronto ImagineNativeImagineNATIVE Film &and Media Arts Festival]].<ref>[http://www.thelandhaseyes.org/index.html Official website of the film ''The Land Has Eyes'']</ref>

* ''[[The Land Has Eyes]]'' (2004), Writer and Director

* ''Two Plays'', 1987, {{ISBN |982-02-0015-6}}

* ''The monster and other plays'', 1989, {{ISBN |982-02-0028-8}}

* ''The wicked cat'', 1991, {{ISBN |982-01-0073-9}}

* ''Last virgin in paradise: A serious comedy'', 1993, {{ISBN |982-02-0084-9}}

* ''Woven Gods: Female Clowns and Power in Rotuma'', 1995, {{ISBN |0-8248-1655-2}}

* ''Sina & Tinilau'', 1997 (children's book), {{ISBN |982-02-0127-6}}

* ''Inside Out: Literature, Cultural Politics, and Identity in the New Pacific'', 1999 (as co-editor), {{ISBN |0-8476-9142-X}}

* [http://www.thelandhaseyes.org/viliint.html Interview with Vilsoni Hereniko]

* [http://www.hawaii.edu/cpis/people_3.html Biography on the website of the University of Hawai'i]

* [http://www.rotuma.net/Images/hereniko/herenikohome.htm Biography on Rotuma.net]

[[Category:University of HawaiiHawaiʻi facultyat Mānoa alumni]]