Lea Tupu'anga / Mother Tongue
A speech therapist oversells her Tongan language skills to get a job.
Hoping to land employment, a Tongan speech therapist tells a white lie – except a headstrong patient challenges her to reconnect with her heritage. Written by star Luciane Buchanan (The Night Agent) and beautifully directed by Vea Mafile‘o (For My Father’s Kingdom, MIFF 2019), this Sundance-premiering film is a poignant story of cultural dislocation and language.