Mafileo is a freelance television and film director and artist who has filmed and exhibited extensively throughout the Pacific. For My Father’s Kingdom is her debut feature, which had its World Premiere in the Berlin Film Festival 2019, won a Jury Award at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and plcaed third for the Melbourne International documentary audience awards. It was the first Pacific Island feature documentary funded by the NZFC and first in the world to be directed & produced by Tongan females. Her short film ‘Toaipuapuaga - Strength in Suffering' also had an international Premiere in Berlinale 2019 and won the Moana Best Pasifika Non- Fiction Director at the 2020 Wairua film Festival.

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Mafileo co-founded a production company Malosi pictures and produced, co-directed Digital Fananga, three legends filmed in Tonga funded by Creative New Zealand, Coconet TV and Malosi pictures. Aho`eitu which won the Breakthrough Award at the Sydney Pasifika Film Festival in 2016.

 

Mafileo an award-winning Set Designer and has Art Directed numerous features and award-winning short films. She is co-founder of The Nuku`alofa film festival in Tonga and founder of the Okalani film festival. She was nominated in 2011 for the prestigious International Signature Art Prize (SAPB) her video work Monomono 2.0 was selected for Imaginary Date Line which exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2015.

 

Mafileo's first solo exhibition in 2018, Digital Lumina a 3 file projection installation at St Paul’s Gallery, Auckland. In 2018 She was also selected for the Script to Screen Film Up programme and awarded the mentorship of Pietra BrettKelly (Yellow is forbidden). The year before winning Southside shorts programme pitch which secured yearlong hubs and mentorship with Miriam Smith (The Ground We Won). She has an Arts Degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Moving Image Fine Arts and three young beautiful boys. She is a nominee for this year’s WIFT Awards 2020 “Woman to watch”. She is a recipient of MAPs producer programme 2020.

 

Mafileo's future projects include NZFC EDF for a documentary feature, directing a Fresh NZFC short Drama Lea Tupuanga and in ED with a Tongan feature drama.