Eight women are gathered around a sofa and smiling at the camera.

Film Premiere: We Are Not Your Dusky Maidens!

Join us at Te Papa for the premiere screening of We Are Not Your Dusky Maidens!, a series of short films, celebrating the mana of Pasifika women’s flower culture.

When | Āhea

Wed 28 Jan 2026, 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Where | Ki hea

Soundings Theatre, Level 2

Cost | Te utu

Free event

The ‘dusky maiden’ is a stereotype of a sun-kissed, exotic ‘South Seas’ Pacific woman adorned with flowers, and dressed provocatively to entice the European male gaze.

In each of the short films, we invited women from Niue, Sāmoa, Tonga, and the Cook Islands to speak back to the dusky maiden trope.

They share personal stories of their powerful connections to their home islands, the tropical flowers that continue to inspire them, along with their reactions to taonga in Te Papa’s collections.

Following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with the women who shared their stories in We Are Not Your Dusky Maidens!

Meet the women

**Kate Ngatokorua**
Kate Ngatokorua was born, raised and educated on the island of Mangaia, the most southern island of the Cook Islands. She grew up surrounded by her language, culture, and community and has represented her island and nation, in pageants both locally and overseas. She graduated with a Batchelor of Art majoring in Pacific Studies and Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Tourism at Victoria University in Wellington, and a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Arts in cultural dances at Whitireia Performing Arts.
She has worked in the Cook Islands, Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision, and Te Papa Tongarewa, and is currently the Kaiako Pouwhakarite at the New Zealand Police Museum. The stage has always been her happy place.

**Losalio Milika Pusiaki Fifita**
Mrs Losalio Milika Pusiaki Fifita is a Tongan mother of 6 children and a Tongan Master-poet (punake kakato), former radio producer for Pacific Media Network, recipient of The Heritage Artist Award 2023 from Creative NZ, and founder of Fe'unu Koula Global Academy of Tongan Arts, Dance and Culture. She is an author, actress, singer, and dance tutor.

**Tofilau Mata Atonio**
Tofilau Mata Atonio was born in Iva, Savai‘i, Western Sāmoa and is a chief in her family. She lives in Wellington and is a long-time staff member at Woolworths Kilbirnie where she works as a Checkout Supervisor. She is a Union Delegate and has been a prominent advocate in campaigns associated with the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa. Alongside other staff, she is known in the store for wearing a sei behind her ear as part of her checkout uniform and for her warm relationships with regular shoppers, including acknowledging birthdays or marking moments in-store over the loudspeaker. She is a mother and grandmother and has long supported local schools and cultural initiatives in Wellington’s eastern suburbs.

**Filo-Masoe sisters**
The Filo-Masoe sisters are the daughters of the late Masoe Auva’a, a highly respected and well-known artist and sign-maker, and the late Fara Masoe (née Filo), from the villages of Asau, Safune, Salelologa, Sa’anapu and Alafua in Sāmoa. From their late father’s creative spirit, the Filo-Masoe sisters have each developed their own artistic expressions while remaining grounded in family, culture, and place. Locally known for their floral creations, they work with fresh flowers to craft ‘ula (neck garlands), pale (head garlands), and floral arrangements. Energetic and deeply passionate, the sisters often share stories of flora and creativity that reflect their upbringing in Sāmoa and the values instilled in them by their 'āiga.
**Taeaolelei** is a graduate of a Bachelor of Arts in Pacific Studies and Matā‘upu tau Sāmoa from Te Herenga Waka, where she now serves as the Pasifika Library Navigator. A gifted artist, she specialises in sei-making, stencil-cut cards, fabric printing, and floral arrangements.
**Fabiefara** is a Senior Adviser, Pasifika Identity at Te Herenga Waka and currently serves as President of the Wellington Central Branch of PACIFICA Inc. (Pacific Allied (Women’s) Council Inspires Faith in Ideals Concerning All, Incorporated).
**Sosefina** is an emerging fashion designer whose work is deeply rooted in the idea of wearing stories on our bodies – expressed through thoughtful pattern, symbolism, and cultural narrative. She holds a Bachelor of Design with Honours in Fashion Design from Massey University’s Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, where she works as the Pacific Creative Navigator.
**Miracle** is a Wellington-based freelance multidisciplinary artist, known for her delicate watercolour practice alongside oil paintings, sketches, and other mixed-media works. Her art thoughtfully explores themes of memory and identity, including contributions to published works.

**Phylesha Brown-Acton**, MNZM
Phylesha Brown-Acton, MNZM hails from the village of Fineone Hakupu Atua, Niue Island. She identifies as Fakafifine. Phylesha has rooted her work in advancing the voice, visibility, and rights of MVPFAFF+ / Pacific LGBTQI+ people and their families for over 25 years. Phylesha is a weaver, dancer, storyteller, and life navigator. Phylesha is committed to collective activism, work, and solidarity across many platforms to advance the human rights of those she serves. Phylesha coined the mnemonic MVPFAFF+ / Māhū – Hawaiʻi, Vakasalewalewa – Fiji, Palopa – Papua New Guinea, Fa’afafine / Fa’atama – American Sāmoa and Sāmoa, Akava’ine – Cook Islands, Fakafifine – Niue, Fakaleiti or Leiti – Tonga, which recognises terms that are far more expansive in understanding of gender and sexuality through knowledge systems that see and recognise people beyond the restraints and nuances of western ideologies of gender binary and sexuality concepts.

Events
Our exciting programme of events runs all year. Watch song and dance performances, join in with kids activities and cultural days, hear from our experts, and much more.
Pacific
Hear about tatau (Sāmoan tattooing), weaving in Tokelau, browse our Pacific collections online, and read blogs.
Flora: Celebrating Our Botanical World
The magnificent plant world of Aotearoa New Zealand in art and object.

Film Premiere: We Are Not Your Dusky Maidens!

Meet the women

You might also like

Events

Pacific

Flora: Celebrating Our Botanical World