28 Feb 2017

Vanuatu proud of Tanna despite it missing out on Oscar

11:38 am on 28 February 2017

People in Vanuatu remain very proud of the film Tanna despite the disappointment of it missing out at this year's Academy Awards.

Nominees for Best Foreign Language Film  Tanna arrive on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars.

Nominees for Best Foreign Language Film Tanna arrive on the red carpet for the 89th Oscars. Photo: AFP

The Australian film, a love story, was shot on the southern Vanuatu island of the same name and featured an entire cast of actors from the Yakel tribe all of whom had never seen let alone acted in a feature film before.

It was nominated in the best foreign film category which was won by The Salesman..

Hundreds gathered at the national conference centre in Port Vila yesterday to watch the Academy Awards live and support the film.

Media director of the Vanuatu newspaper the Daily Post, Dan McGarry was at the live screening.

He said there was a subdued atmosphere in the conference centre after the winner was announced, but the crowd rallied when the main characters of the film got up to thank them for their support.

A man and a woman in tradional Ni-Vanuatu clothing sit on a rock in a river

The main characters of Tanna Photo: Supplied

"They are hugely proud, you should have heard the applause when Dain and Wawa the two lead characters in the movie. When they took the stage there was really a heartfelt outpouring of applause and it is clear that the people of Tanna are immensely proud of their acheivement."

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