The Apollo Cinemas in the heart of Apia was the place to be last night.

It was where the stars of Samoan film, One Thousand Ropes, mixed and mingled with members of the public during the Film’s Samoa premier.

The staff at the Cinemas rolled out the red carpet to welcome Samoan-Kiwi actors like Frankie Adams, Beulah Koale and of course Samoa’s very own, Tuiasau Leota Petaia.  

They were accompanied by the movie Director, Tusi Tamasese.  

Mr. Tamasese is no stranger to Samoa. 

He has brought to life many Samoan stories including Samoa’s first ever feature film, “The Orator”.

His latest work, One Thousand Ropes, addresses a variety of issues that plague Samoan society but often don’t get talked about such as family violence, domestic violence, anger issues and much, much more.  

Yesterday, the acclaimed writer shared details behind the movie during a press conference. 

 “This is not based on past experiences,” he said about the film. 

“I thought it would be an interesting thing to write about (these issues).”

Mr. Tamasese also spoke about the motivation behind the main character, Maea, played by Tuiasau. 

He is depicted as a violent man struggling to control his inner demons.  

“When I started writing, one of the things that has always been in my interest is violence. 

“I’ve always been interested in the topic, understanding where it comes from.  It started from there and everything else just fell into place.

“I saw how a violent person would live inside a family and also got an idea of how domestic violence affects the family unit as a whole.”

Asked about the meaning of the film’s name, One Thousand Ropes, Mr. Tamasese said: “In Samoan it can mean one thousand ropes or folded ropes.  And another meaning is how ropes are holding us back.”  

The film made its world premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.

And although the movie is made with Samoans, Mr. Tamasese said the themes are global, they are stories about human beings and humanity.  

“I’m just using our people to investigate.  It’s important because we also have a place in Cinema and representing us when we go to places like Berlin.

“They have films from many countries and its good to have our place.”

He says now that this has been released he is still working on other scripts.

He didn’t reveal too much about his next project.  

And his parting advice for aspiring writers: 

“Just write,” he said.  

“Watch a lot of movies and write.  Writing comes from experience and you need to go out and see people and how they behave. You can’t fake it and everyone can sense it.”