[1] He came to New Zealand at the age of 18 with the intention to go to university, but, lacking a scholarship, began by working "picking tomatoes".
He eventually did study at the New Zealand Film School, at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington and at the University of Waikato; he obtained a bachelor's degree in social sciences, and a Master of Arts degree in creative writing.
He went on to make Samoa's first ever feature film, The Orator (O Le Tulafale), which was screened in 2011 and submitted to the 84th Academy Awards.
[4] One Thousand Ropes was released in 2017, directed by Tusi Tamasese, produced by Catherine Fitzgerald.
It is the story of a father and daughter relationship in Samoa, in Samoan and English, mixing reality and mythological narratives.