THE KAISILAS – DUDI AND JOJO
Using performance, archival family footage, photos and animation, these poetic immersive projects will take us in to the worlds of our artists, their families and communities in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne; revealing the brilliant, hidden and profound subcultures of Melbourne’s diasporic and artistic communities as they grapple with climate change, assimilation, rediscovered ancestries, transformation and the power of siblings.
KIN | EPISODE 1 THE KAISILAS – DUDI AND JOJO
Episode 1 The Kailsilas – Dudi and Jojo sees iTaukei artists and twin sisters Ruci and Joanne Kaisila explore their deeply personal insights into Fiji, its culture, the diaspora, climate change and their lives as burgeoning cultural custodians and singers in a Gospel family. A story of ancestral consciousness. The animation work is being developed in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and Fiji and is a collaboration with Fijian film maker and animator Tumeli Tuqota and will be in production in 2024. Outer Urban Projects Artistic Director Iríne Vela is the KIN series director.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer, Performer, Composer
Ruci Kaisila and Joanne Kaisila
Director, Animator, Co-writer Tumeli Tuqota
KIN series Director/Concept Irine Vela
Photography and Cinematography Miguel Rios and Meredith O’Shea
Editor Laisiasa Dave
Masi Pattern Artist Joseph Baro-Kaurasi
Illustrator Taleivini Kaimacuata
Audience Engagement and Distribution Neisau Tuidraki
Producing Team Kate Gillick and Irine Vela
Production Manager Calysta Morgan
Assistant Production Manager Dani Niuatau
Developed with support from the Australian Government through Creative Australia and its arts funding and advisory body, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Inner North Community Foundation, Brian Davis Foundation and City of Merri-bek.
“Personally I’m looking forward to having KIN and the 1st episode influence and impact the viewers in a deep and personal way, especially for Fijians both in Fiji and the diaspora at large and by extension, other Pacific Islanders and Indigenous people of the world. Having spent some time with the Kaisila twins listening to their amazing stories, their deep love for learning and maintaining their culture, their affection for their family and the women in their lives who impacted their upbringing via music and culture, I hope that by bringing these rich cultural experiences to life via animation, Fijians, Pacific Islanders and Indigenous people can both relate to their struggles but also celebrate their journey in keeping their culture alive in another country.”