4. The first research trip to the Pacific Islands changed the direction of the production team. “We really spent time with the people, sat in villages with elders, children, academics, and even went sailing,” producer Osnat Schuller told Canadian Tribute in 2017. “We came back with a very deep appreciation for the culture, the history, the beauty of the people, and the rhythm and harmony. So in that moment, we decided together that we really wanted to celebrate the culture, its beauty, its subtlety, its wonder, its history. To move the culture forward.” ”
She revealed that she was particularly influenced by the words of a Moera elder who said to her, “‘We have been swallowed up by your culture for years. Can you be swallowed up by our culture, just once?'” “We took this very seriously.”
Among the lessons that shaped the final story: “Nature, especially the ocean, is living and sentient, and the ocean connects us all,” Schuller explained. “That you need to know your mountain, that you need to know everything that’s come before to know where you stand. That you can find your path through your relationship with nature. Those are deep and incredibly things to learn, and there are so many cultures with beautiful messages that we all haven’t celebrated yet. That excites me so much.”
