Marie Wawa | |
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Occupation | Actress |
Marie Wawa is a ni- Vanuatu actress and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, Tanna. The film, which was the first to be shot entirely in Vanuatu, won two major prizes at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. [1] Wawa appears in the lead role opposite Mungau Dain as two star-crossed lovers. [2]
Wawa is from the interior village of Yakel on Tanna island, Tafea Province, in southern Vanuatu. [3] [4] [5]
Wawa, like the rest of the cast of Tanna, was a novice, first-time actress with no experience prior to her casting. [3] The film, a story of real-life forbidden love and tragedy, was shot on location around Yakel. [6] Wawa was cast in the lead role of Wawa, a young girl who is betrothed in an arranged marriage as part of a peace deal with another tribe. [3] [7] However, she falls in love with the grandson of her chief, played by Mungau Dain. [1] [7] Their families refuse to allow the couple to marry. [8] The couple flee and eventually commit suicide, mirroring the true real-life tragedy of a Tannese couple in 1987. [8] The tragic circumstances led the elders to legalize love marriages. [8]
In September 2015, Wawa traveled to Venice with Tanna's three other lead actors to attend its world premiere at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. [3] Wawa also attended the 89th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on February 26, 2017, where Tanna had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. [9]
Marie Wawa | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Occupation | Actress |
Marie Wawa is a ni- Vanuatu actress and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, Tanna. The film, which was the first to be shot entirely in Vanuatu, won two major prizes at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. [1] Wawa appears in the lead role opposite Mungau Dain as two star-crossed lovers. [2]
Wawa is from the interior village of Yakel on Tanna island, Tafea Province, in southern Vanuatu. [3] [4] [5]
Wawa, like the rest of the cast of Tanna, was a novice, first-time actress with no experience prior to her casting. [3] The film, a story of real-life forbidden love and tragedy, was shot on location around Yakel. [6] Wawa was cast in the lead role of Wawa, a young girl who is betrothed in an arranged marriage as part of a peace deal with another tribe. [3] [7] However, she falls in love with the grandson of her chief, played by Mungau Dain. [1] [7] Their families refuse to allow the couple to marry. [8] The couple flee and eventually commit suicide, mirroring the true real-life tragedy of a Tannese couple in 1987. [8] The tragic circumstances led the elders to legalize love marriages. [8]
In September 2015, Wawa traveled to Venice with Tanna's three other lead actors to attend its world premiere at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. [3] Wawa also attended the 89th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on February 26, 2017, where Tanna had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. [9]