TANNA Trailer And Photos: Love Fights Tribalism On A South Pacific Island

Peter Martin, Managing Editor; Dallas, Texas (@peteramartin)

September 1 2015, 6:00 PM

A man and a woman from warring tribes fall in love on a small island in the South Pacific. What could possibly go wrong?

According to Tanna, plenty. The film, directed by Martin Butler and Bentley Dean, will make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival next week -- on September 8, to be precise. The first trailer, which you can watch below, sets up the story efficiently. (You can read the synopsis below and also watch the trailer.) But what makes the film distinctive is that it's based on a true story and is performed by members of the Yakel tribe of Tanna, Vanuatu, in the South Pacific.

We've also got a batch of stills available in the gallery below (click through to see them all). You can read more about the film at the official Facebook page. An Australian release is planned via Contact Films/Bonsai Films for later this year.

Official synopsis for Tanna:

In one of the last traditional tribes in the South Pacific, a young girl, Wawa, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an inter-tribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, but are pursued by enemy warriors intent on killing them. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom. Based on a true story and performed by the people of Yakel.

The Yakel still live a fully traditional Kastom lifestyle in their mountainous jungle home, in the shadow of an active volcano, maintaining their belief system and social structure despite contact with the modern world. Although they had never even seen a film before, the tribe openly embraced the opportunity to explore this new way of storytelling.