Sponsored by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Black Student Association and the Pōpolo Project

Blackbird tells the story of Solomon Islander siblings, Rosa & Kiko, who were kidnapped from their island home to work on a sugar cane plantation in Queensland, Australia in the late 1800s. Rosa struggles to keep an eye on her young spirited brother who comes into conflict with their Overseer. And as Kiko journeys into adulthood, amidst oppression and severe loss of culture and identity, he must find his will to survive.

Blackbird is an award-winning short narrative film written and directed by Australian Solomon Islander filmmaker Amie Batalibasi. Blackbird will screen at the Berlin International Film Festival as part of the NATIVe program in February 2019. In 2017, Amie began developing the feature adaptation of BLACKBIRD as the Sundance Institute’s 2017 Merata Mita Fellowship recipient through the Native and Indigenous Film Program.