My journey began with a message from Producer Cinzia Guaraldi of Salt of the Earth Productions. “Would you be interested in being the DoP for a film called Unspoken – Ep 1?”
This was back in November 2024. At the time, I was supporting a grieving friend.
I read the synopsis. Then the script. What drew me in was its potential to be more than just a story — I love working on projects that convey historical truth, emotional depth, and universal meaning, speaking to a global audience. And I said YES.
Preliminary conversations with Writer/Director Iva Tora deepened my excitement. We spoke about how the house itself was a character, how repression lingered in the frame, and how love would sleep and slowly awaken across the film. This wasn’t just an ordinary love story — and I couldn’t wait to explore the cinematographic possibilities.
Pre-production was filled with excitement and a touch of anxiety — especially not being able to do the recce in person.
We'd numerous video calls with the local crew to check various locations, produced shot lists and camera diagrams based on the imagined spaces, and then tested the gear we’d need to bring, what goes in carry-on, checked-in luggage, and the sea.
Classic filmmaking logistics.
We were thrilled to have Suva local Litiana Lagibalavu and Home & Away’s Dan Ewing as lead, along with Nina Pavlovic, Cam Faull, and Grace Smibert.
We were ready to go and I couldn't wait to start — and like most shoots, things shifted. The schedule got pushed back a month. The crew lineup changed right up to the last minute — 1st AD, makeup artist, camera assistant — as well as securing other crew members. The location changed too.
Gaffer Paul Mailath and I ended up reworking our camera and lighting plans three times — first based on the imagined setting, then on a second location, and finally again once we arrived in Suva and locked in the actual shooting site just five days before principal photography began.
It was both fun and mentally exhausting — a tango between creativity and logistics, where adaptability and a positive mindset became our most valuable tools.
When we arrived in Suva, Iva Tora (our director) felt the location wasn’t quite right — it was way too small — and made a bold call to change. Guess what? It was the space we originally wanted, and it had been for sale at the time. A quick phone call… and we got it. Shift gears, all heads to the new, more spacious location, and back to re-mapping.
Excitement continued as five huge crates containing the majority of camera, lighting and props arrived safely from Sydney, ready to be unpacked — but we couldn’t unpack right away.
The new location still needed to be vacated and wouldn't be fully ready for us until one day before the rehearsal started, and that strange in-between moment reminded me just how unpredictable filmmaking can be —and how fun!
There were moments I thought, “Why is this so hard? We haven’t even started yet.”
But then I caught myself saying: “This film is forming itself. It’s calling in the people and resources it needs to tell the story. Trust the process.”
And over the next three weeks, that’s exactly what happened.
Day 0: I couldn’t wait to meet all the assistants, get to know them, and begin training.
Day 1: I was looking forward to meeting the full crew from each department. ...
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Day 4, I couldn’t have asked for a better crew. We had heavy rain and extreme heat during outdoor scenes, and every single person did their job while supporting each other with smiles, resilience, and genuine teamwork.
Like when the art department, under the direction of Art Director and Prop Master Charlie O'Brien, the team transformed a plain space — complete with a gas bottle, clothes hanger and a visible rooftop — into a tender, romantic setting.
Their ability to hide or soften modern objects and age a car to suit the 1950s timeline made a huge difference to the visual storytelling and was simply extraordinary.
Or when the lighting team, under Gaffer Paul Mailath, created "night" during the day using blackout fabrics, then added moonlight from outside the window, finishing it with haze and shafts of light that gave the room a dreamy, intimate texture. We all paused after that setup — just to appreciate it.
And wardrobe — Head of Wardrobe Whitney Riley did an incredible job sourcing period costumes for all 7 cast members across 55 scenes. Her local assistant was equally extraordinary, constantly adjusting garments and quickly covering tattoos when time didn’t allow for full makeup.
I could go on about each person — the sound department hiding microphones in strange places, the data wrangler, continuity, the food artist, and the runner & caterer...
In short, each department brought their excellence, and each day, every action — both small and significant — shaped the emotional tone of the film.
On the last day, Film Fiji came and did interviews with each crew member. That was unexpected and a nice end of the production!
We get to talk about our experience, our role, and how the project impacted us.
For me, it was also a moment of unexpected reflection. After three weeks of intensive production, I found myself speaking not about the technical execution, but about the feeling — the sense of shared purpose, the pride in the team, and the quiet joy of seeing something come together that once only existed on paper.
Above all, I spoke about the privilege I felt in having the opportunity to mentor and train the local crew — and what that meant to me.
