The RECIF Festival (Emerging Directors, International Cinema & Pacific Films) ushers in a new chapter for cinema in New Caledonia, while also engaging in regional cooperation across the Pacific.
From its very first edition in 2025, RECIF aims to broaden its horizons by opening its competition to Pacific short fiction films, alongside New Caledonian productions.
By bringing together filmmakers and professionals from neighboring islands, the festival seeks to foster dialogue, collaboration, and the highlighting of each territory’s unique cultural identity.
This regional openness reflects a strong commitment to building lasting bridges between island film communities, promoting the circulation of works, expertise, and talent.
A festival looking to the future
RECIF also offers an international selection of first and second feature-length fiction films, showcasing the vitality of emerging cinema worldwide.
Conceived as an annual event, RECIF is rooted in a long-term vision. By placing emerging cinema at the heart of its editorial line, it aims to create connections between professionals, young talents, and audiences.
A festival on the move
The second edition of the festival will take place from 30 October to 21 November 2026.
Thanks to the support of its institutional partners, including local municipalities, the festival will host screenings across all three provinces of New Caledonia, both in theaters and outdoors, bringing cinema to Nouméa, Dumbéa, le Mont-Dore, Païta, La Foa, Bourail, Pouembout, Voh, Thio, Poindimié, Touho, Koumac, Hienghène, Bélep et Ouvéa !
Press conference
Tuesday october 13th
1 2 3 FILMEZ!
How about taking on the challenge of making a fiction film in just 48 hours?
Registration open until 12 October!
Theme announced on Friday 23 October 2026 at 6:30 pm.
Film submission deadline: Sunday 25 October before 6:30 pm.
For more information: 123filmez@recif.nc
Explore the festival at a glance (screenings, encounters, competitions…)
Browse the programme on your smartphone
Opening Weekend
Nouméa – Tjibaou Cultural Centre
Celebrate the opening of the festival’s second edition in this iconic cultural venue.
A weekend of screenings, encounters and discoveries, free of charge!
Friday 30 October – Sisia Theatre
17:45: Welcome
Switi’s frozen treat offered upon arrival.
18:15: RECIF Song and welcome address
JACOB by Dena Curtis (12 min, Australia)
Presented by Anusha Duray, President of the Pacific Selection Jury
BATI by Andrew John Fakaua Ponton (1h23 – Fiji)
Q&A with actor James Rabuatoka at the end of the screening.
Saturday 31 October – Sisia Theatre
9:00: Pacific Selection
Short films – Part 1 – 2h
11:00: Professional talk open to the public
AI: Friend or Foe to Audiovisual Creation? (1h15)
Food available on site: La Galette à nous
13:45: Pacific Selection
Short films – Part 2 – 2h15
14:00: 1 2 3 Pitch Competition
With the jury in attendance, open to the public
EXPLORE THE FULL PROGRAMME
This year, RECIF will take place in fifteen municipalities: Nouméa, Dumbéa, Mont-Dore, Païta, La Foa, Bourail, Pouembout, Voh, Thio, Poindimié, Touho, Koumac, Hienghène, Bélep and Ouvéa.
Create your own festival experience by exploring our different selections:
- Emerging International Selection: first and second feature films
- Short Film Competitions: Pacific Selection, Young Talents, Always Shorter, 1 2 3 Filmez!
- Caledonian Programme: a music video and films from New Caledonia
- Young Audience Selection: mainly presented as school screenings.
They are members of the Pacific Selection jury.
ANUSHA DURAY / Australia
President of the Pacific Selection Jury
Anusha Duray is an Australian Indigenous screen producer and Acquisitions Manager at National Indigenous Television (NITV), Australia’s television network dedicated to the stories, cultures and issues of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NITV is a division of SBS Australia.
She has extensive experience in media, as well as in Aboriginal community development. She has worked as Senior Programmer and then Acquisitions Manager at NITV, and has been actively involved in Indigenous policy and community development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies / English Literature and completed management studies at the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW.
As a producer, she worked on the television series THE WHOLE TABLE, featuring Taika Waititi, Miranda Tapsell, Nakkiah Lui and Rhoda Roberts. She also produced THE WAKE, an interactive cinematic installation presented at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Gallery and Vivid Sydney, among other venues.
Growing up without seeing people or families like her own represented on Australian screens motivated her to work in the screen industry, helping to promote the representation of Indigenous voices and stories on screen.
She has also served on the Screen Australia Gender Matters Taskforce, the Aboriginal Women’s Consultation Network and the Oceanian TV Symposium, and was awarded the Chief Executive Women in Leadership Scholarship.
She also has experience as a jury member in Oceanian cinema and was a member of the FIFO 2026 jury in Tahiti.
CRAIG FASI
Director of Pollywood Pasifika Film
Craig Fasi is a dedicated Pacific film programmer from Niue, based in New Zealand. He is the founder and director of Pollywood Pasifika Film, a non-profit festival established in 2002 and held annually in Auckland. For more than 20 years, he has championed Pacific filmmakers and short films, providing a platform for both emerging and established artists.
Craig Fasi is also co-programmer of the Ngā Whanaunga selection, presented each year as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival. He selects and showcases Māori and Pacific works, with a particular focus on Indigenous talent.
Through his work in film programming and distribution, Craig Fasi has spent many years bringing Pacific voices and cultures to wider audiences, and building bridges between Pacific communities and the world of cinema.
JAMES RABUATOKA / Fidji
Lead Actor in BATI, member of the Pacific Selection Jury
Beginning his journey in the art and entertainment industry in 2019, James Rabuatoka has emerged as a versatile Fijian multidisciplinary artist, making his mark as a film actor, stage performer, vocalist, and poet.
He broke through internationally with the 2025 feature film BATI, delivering a critically praised leading performance as Sam, which made history as the first Fijian film to screen at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
On stage, he has honed his craft as a dancer and performer with the Moana Loa Performing Arts Center and Oceania Dance Theatre, notably appearing in the production “Sina,” while also lending his voice as a vocalist for the renowned choir Pasifika Voices, known for supporting Disney’s Moana.
Beyond performance, James is a published poet with his work “I Was 5” featured on PoemHunter.com and an Anthology title Poetry and Prose at the Museum (Fiji Museum) with other selected writers, all while pursuing photography as a personal hobby.
ZOÉ SCHELLENBAUM / Japan
Artist
Zoé Schellenbaum is an artist born in 1990 in Nouméa. Her work develops between France, New Caledonia and Japan, where she is based. Drawing on these different territories and cultures, she explores questions of identity, memory, transmission and our relationship with places. Her work reflects a sensitive perspective on cultural connections and island experiences, particularly in Ouvéa.
“My work explores the idea of the spirit of a place, and the connection that develops between a person and their surroundings: a feeling, an invisible and intangible connection, mysterious and sometimes mystical. In any case, it is a form of imagination, a projection of one’s whole being into a place, and vice versa. Each becomes part of the other.”
Z. S.
As part of the festival, two film professionals whose films will be screened in the Pacific Selection will also be travelling to New Caledonia.
TADJI ULRICH / Australia
Screenwriter, Director
Tadji Ulrich is an award-winning screenwriter and director based in Melbourne, Australia, with a bilingual English-French background. His storytelling blends genre elements with traditional drama, creating immersive films that offer a unique perspective on the complexities of love, grief and rebuilding one’s life.
His films have screened around the world, as well as at some of Australia’s leading film festivals, including the St Kilda Film Festival and Flickerfest. Over the years, he has received several awards, including first prize in the youth category at Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival; the inaugural Emerging Filmmaker Award at the North Bellarine Film Festival in 2019; and the prestigious Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year title at the 2025 Byron Bay International Film Festival.
His short film THE WAKE will be screened in the Pacific Selection.
Larissa ALLEN / New Zealand
Actress, Producer, Screenwriter
Originally from the Te Moana-a-Toi region of New Zealand, Larissa Allen is an actress, producer and screenwriter. She is the co-founder of Eddie Page Productions, an independent production company established in 2021. In 2023, she received a scholarship from the Equity Foundation to study at the Atlantic Acting School in New York. She develops projects that champion authentic stories and voices that are still underrepresented on screen.
As an actress, she has played leading roles in the short films PĀKEHĀ (2025), EXPOSURE (2025) and LOVE YA FACE (2022). She also acted in and directed the short film PETRIFIED (2024). On the production side, she worked as a production coordinator on the feature film KA WHAWHAI TONU (2023).
In PĀKEHĀ, directed by Mana Hira Davis, she combines her talents as an actress and producer in a story inspired by real events, exploring the learning of te reo Māori and cultural reconciliation. The film won Best Short Fiction Film at FIFO 2026.
PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS / TALKS (open to the public).
Round tables, discussions and meetings are opportunities to reflect together on the issues facing audiovisual creation today, in New Caledonia and across the Pacific.
David Bilbault will host three talks bringing together artists, industry professionals and audiences to share experiences, spark new ideas and build connections beyond the screenings.
AI: Friend or Foe to Audiovisual Creation?
Artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming the audiovisual industry. Does it represent a tremendous opportunity for artists and creators, particularly in territories where production resources are limited? Or, on the contrary, does it risk undermining creative professions, homogenising our imaginations and challenging the role of human beings in the creative process?
To discuss these questions, the three television networks of New Caledonia, partners of RECIF, together with industry professionals, will explore the uses of AI, its potential and its limitations.
Supported by Nouvelle-Calédonie La 1ère, CANAL+ CALEDONIE and CALEDONIA.
Hélène Adrey, Marketing & Communications Director – CANAL+ Calédonie
Christophe Augias, Director of DCCFC – Government of New Caledonia representative on the Support Fund Commission
Philippe Buston, Producer – Open Tuning
Valérie Jauneau, Editorial Director – Nouvelle-Calédonie la 1ère
Kingtaz, Artist, Content Creator
Gonzague de La Bourdonnaye, Communications & Partnerships Manager – Nouvelle-Calédonie la 1ère
Nunë Luepak, Director, Producer – Ziliwa Films
Olivier Martin, Producer – NK Prod – & Treasurer of the ACPF – New Caledonian Association of Fiction Producers
Clémentine Prévot, Video Editor
Lois Saoulo, Director, AI Supervisor
Bénédicte Vernier, Head of the Film Commission – Province Sud
Pierre Welepa, Managing Director – CALEDONIA
Tjibaou Cultural Centre (terrace)
Saturday, October 31
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
® Open to all audiovisual industry professionals and the general public
Food available on site: La Galette à nous
Telling and Filming Others: Responsibility, Legitimacy and Consent
Who owns the stories? Who has the right to tell whose story, and what stories can we tell? Can we tell an experience that is not our own? Between creative freedom, the legitimacy of the filmmaker’s perspective and the consent of the people being represented, where do the ethical boundaries of cinema lie?
To discuss these questions:
Larissa Allen, Producer and Actress (PAKEHA – Pacific Selection) – New Zealand
Fabien Dubedout, Journalist, Writer, Director – New Caledonia
Anusha Duray, Programme Acquisitions Manager for NITV – President of the Pacific Selection Jury – Australia
Craig Fasi, Director and Co-Founder of Pollywood Pacifika Film – New Zealand
Stéphanie Habasque Tobie, producer – Imagin’ – and Treasurer of Fipa NC – New Caledonia
Maï Le Flochmoën, Director and Producer – Amborella Productions – New Caledonia
Nunë Luepak, Director, Producer – Ziliwa Films – New Caledonia
Catherine Marconnet, producer – Archipel Production – and President of Fipa NC – New Caledonia
Delphine Ollier Vindin, Executive Director of RECIF Festival – New Caledonia
James Rabuatoka, Lead Actor in BATI (Emergence Selection), Artist – Fiji
Florian Sagez, Producer – Lighting Starfish – & Member of the ACPF – New Caledonian Association of Fiction Producers – New Caledonia
Lois Saoulo, Director, AI Supervisor – New Caledonia
Zoé Schellenbaum, Artist (video, installation, writing) – Japan / New Caledonia
Tadji Ulrich, director – Australia
Bénédicte Vernier, Head of the Film Commission – Province Sud – New Caledonia
Pierre Welepa, Managing Director of CALEDONIA – New Caledonia
Pacific Community (SPC)
Monday, November 2
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – access possible from 12:40 pm
® Open to all audiovisual industry professionals and the general public
Dare to Direct: Inspiring Young Pacific Islanders to Pick Up the Camera
How can we encourage people to take the step towards directing? What cultural, economic and symbolic barriers still exist? This meeting aims to inspire young Pacific Islanders to tell their own worlds, imaginations and realities.
To discuss these questions:
Noël Alla, Videographer, Photographer, Content Creator – New Caledonia
Astro, Artist, Actor, Videographer – New Caledonia
Dany Banreau, Director, Actor, Trainer in Communication and Performing Arts – New Caledonia
Terence Chevrin, Director and Producer, President of ACPF – Association Calédonienne des Producteurs de Fiction – New Caledonia
Anusha Duray, Programme Acquisitions Manager for NITV – President of the Pacific Selection Jury – Australia
Craig Fasi, Director and Co-Founder of Pollywood Pacifika Film – New Zealand
Ludovic Hmaé, Photographer, Videographer – New Caledonia
Kito (Christopher Hnautra), parkour artist, comedian and content creator – New Caledonia
Nunë Luepak, Director, Producer – Ziliwa Films – New Caledonia
Delphine Ollier Vindin, Executive Director of RECIF Festival – New Caledonia
James Rabuatoka, Lead Actor in BATI (Emergence Selection), Artist – Fiji
Lois Saoulo, Director, AI Supervisor – New Caledonia
Zoé Schellenbaum, Artist (video, installation, writing) – France / Japan / New Caledonia
Tadji Ulrich, director – Australia
Bénédicte Vernier, Head of the Film Commission – Province Sud – New Caledonia
Pierre Welepa, Managing Director of CALEDONIA – New Caledonia
Simane Wenethem, Actor, Content Creator, Dancer, Slam Poet – New Caledonia
Pacific Community (SPC)
Tuesday, November 3
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – access possible from 12:40 pm
® Open to all audiovisual industry professionals and the general public
ONLY FOR PROFESSIONNALS
Challenging Stereotypes on Screen
Stereotypes influence the way we tell stories and shape the way we see the world. In order to create nuanced content and characters, we invite you to reflect on the stereotypes conveyed on screen, and on ways to deconstruct them in audiovisual works.
Led by Lucile Landais (CANAL+ Group), this online conference invites writers, directors and producers from New Caledonia to question their practices and enrich their storytelling.
A meeting supported by Nouvelle-Calédonie La 1ère, CANAL+ CALEDONIE and CALEDONIA.
South Province Auditorium (CAPS)
Wednesday, November 18
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
® For audiovisual industry professionals only
Please let us know if you will be attending, indicating the name of the meeting in the subject line of your email, addressed to festival@recif.nc.
PACIFIC SELECTION
Acquisitions manager at National Indigenous Television (Australia)
Artistic director
of the Ânûû-rû Âboro
Film Festival
(New Caledonia)
Founder and director of Pollywood Pasifika Film (New Zealand)
Actor, performing artist (Fiji)
President
of Animation
Bou Rhaï Cultures
(New Caledonia)
Video, installation
and writing artist
(Japan, New Caledonia)
Actor and co-founder
Mana All project
(New Caledonia)
ALWAYS SHORTER
Screenwriter, director and producer
Composer
de La Bourdonnaye
Head of communications
and partnerships
NC la 1ère
Young talents award winner
RECIF 2025
Organiser
of La Première Séance
film festival
& cultural activities
Jeunes et toiles
YOUNG TALENTS
Director
and screenwriter
President of the ADAMIC association
High school student
in Nouméa, cinema
& audiovisual studies Lycée Lapérouse
Co-director
New Caledonia Chapitô
Managing director
of CALEDONIA
1 2 3 PITCH IT
Producer & director
Techni Video
Producer
NK Prod
Producer
Lighting Starfish
1 2 3 FILM
Videographer
& content creator
Former multimedia facilitator
Marketing
& communications director
CANAL+ Calédonie
Journalist
Cultural development officer, South Province
Audiovisual and event producer
Music Station & EVM
Inviting an artist to enrich the festival’s editorial line, where their imagination meets ours…
RECIF has chosen to award winners not with a traditional trophy, but with a unique work of art.
To give shape to this vision and distinguish the different festival categories, RECIF collaborated with Veronique Menet, whose artistic universe resonates with our initial inspirations.
Trained at the Olivier-de-Serres School of Applied Arts in Paris, Veronique Menet is a visual artist and landscape designer. She partly grew up in Poindimie and now lives in Noumea, where she maintains her studio. Her artistic language is guided by emotion and research. Both her installations and two-dimensional works explore a wide variety of techniques and materials, with a particular focus on botanical elements.
Through the motif of coral, RECIF aims to assert its Pacific identity and create a poetic parallel between the festival’s competition levels and the stages of polyp development : young talents are the sprouts, professionals are the fully grown branches…
To embody this living metaphor, the artist has designed a series of linocuts on textile, subtly enhanced with embroidery.
A trophy as an Offering
« Linocut is a handcrafted printing technique. The design is carved by hand into a linoleum plate, gouging out the areas that will not be printed. Ink is then applied to the raised surfaces with a roller, and the plate is pressed onto textile, revealing the image as a print.
Each print is unique and numbered, bearing the marks of the gesture and the time spent creating it.
Rolled like scrolls and tied with textile cords, these works evoke the traditional mats of our culture, carrying respect, recognition, and social connection.
To give a work of art is to give time, material, and emotion. It is to tell the winning artist: your work has left a mark, here is ours in return.” V. Menet
The Song of RECIF : an original creation by I NU
For its first edition, RECIF wanted to mark its opening with an original musical creation, entrusted to the group I NU.
I NU, which means « coconut tree » in Drehu, is a musical duo born from the meeting of Hnawejë Canehmez, originally from Lifou, and Marianne Canehmez, from Normandy. Living in France at the time, their music began to take shape through encounters, travels, and a variety of artistic projects. I NU draws inspiration from traditional Kanak music while opening up to global influences such as bossa nova, blues, jazz, and reggae.
In 2015, they settled in New Caledonia. Their songwriting is a true collaboration, blending melody and poetry, supported by acoustic guitar and ukulele. They also write in several languages – French, English, and Drehu – which enhances the intercultural dimension of their songs.
Inspired by the festival’s editorial line, between ocean and image, memory and movement, the artists composed a song that reflects the spirit of this collective adventure.
This work, written especially for the event, weaves connections between the cultures and imaginations of the Pacific. It evokes the light of the islands, the diversity of perspectives, and the vitality of the creations that bring our region to life.
Performed for the first time during the opening evening, this song has became the musical identity of the festival.
PRESS REVIEW
2026 : second edition
LES NOUVELLES CALEDONIENNES
https://www.lnc.nc/article/recif-le-festival-de-cinema-oceanien-et-emergent-fait-son-retour-a-travers-le-pays
NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE TOURISME
https://www.nouvellecaledonie.travel/offres/recif-festival-du-film-de-nouvelle-caledonie-noumea-fr-6329066/
RECIF FESTIVAL 2025 AWARDS: Announcement of the festival’s award winners.
Article dated December 12, 2025, available on the CINECITY website
https://cinecity.nc/films/palmares-festival-recif-2025
RECIF Festival: 4th graders dive into the world of cinema: Report on the festival’s visit to Ouvéa.
Article dated December 3, 2025, available on the website of the Vice-Rectorate of New Caledonia (Webouvea), Collège Shea Tiaou – Ouvéa
https://webouvea.ac-noumea.nc/spip.php?article543
RECIF Festival: the winners of this first edition
Article dated December 2, 2025, available on the Groupama-Gan.nc website
https://groupama-gan.nc/festival-recif-les-laureats-de-cette-premiere-edition/
CINEMA. The RECIF Festival presented its very first awards
Article dated November 14, 2025, available on the NC la 1ère France Info website
https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/province-sud/noumea/cinema-le-festival-recif-a-decerne-ses-toutes-premieres-recompenses-1643539.html
RECIF Festival: Fiction in the spotlight: Article detailing the festival’s ambitions
Article dated November 14, 2025, available on the Caledonia NC website
https://www.caledonia.nc/actualite/festival-recif-la-fiction-en-lumiere
RECIF: the great journey of New Caledonian cinema across the country: Article on the opening of the festival at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre and its tour across municipalities
Article dated November 13, 2025, available on the Radio Cocotier website
https://radiococotier.nc/2025/11/13/recif-le-grand-voyage-du-cinema-caledonien-a-travers-le-pays/
The Tjibaou Cultural Centre hosted the second day of the RECIF Festival on Saturday, notably dedicated to Pacific short films.
An edition still discreet, but already driven by public curiosity.
Article dated November 10, 2025, available on the La Voix du Caillou website
https://voixducaillou.nc/2025/11/10/au-festival-recif-un-accueil-tres-chaleureux/
Damon Fepulea’i: “Showing my film to New Caledonians is an opportunity to learn more about your country”
Article dated November 8, 2025, on the NC la 1ère website
https://www.lnc.nc/article/nouvelle-caledonie/pacifique/nouvelle-zelande/culture/damon-fepulea-i-montrer-mon-film-aux-caledoniens-est-une-opportunite-d-en-apprendre-plus-sur-votre-pays
RECIF, a new breath of fresh air
Article dated October 31, 2025, available on the La Voix du Caillou website
https://voixducaillou.nc/2025/10/31/recif-un-souffle-nouveau/
10/24: Radio program “Listen to the Heartbeat of the Caillou” on NC la 1ère
Presentation of the 2025 edition, with Delphine-Ollier Vindin, Véronique Menet, and Florian Sagez.
Replay available at:
https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/programme-audio/ecoutez-battre-le-cur-du-caillou-a4c03575-6462-465b-bcec-18f752da406e/
First edition of the RECIF Festival from November 7 to December 13, 2025: Announcement of support from Groupama Pacifique and festival dates.
Article dated October 18, 2025, available on the Groupama Gan New Caledonia website
https://groupama-gan.nc/premiere-edition-du-festival-recif-du-7-novembre-au-13-decembre-2025/
Cinema: the new RECIF Festival opens up to the Pacific
Article dated October 16, 2025, available on the LNC website
https://www.lnc.nc/article/nouvelle-caledonie/culture/cinema/cinema-le-nouveau-festival-recif-s-ouvre-sur-le-pacifique
The RECIF Festival takes over the Tjibaou Centre on November 7 and 8, before touring New Caledonia
Article dated October 16, 2025, available on NC la 1ère
https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/province-sud/noumea/cinema-le-festival-recif-investit-le-centre-tjibaou-les-7-et-8-novembre-avant-d-arpenter-la-caledonie-1633295.html
Sacha Wolff, director of the film Mercenaire, considers shooting a feature film in New Caledonia
Article dated October 15, 2025, available on NC la 1ère
https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/sacha-wolff-realisateur-du-film-mercenaire-envisage-de-tourner-un-long-metrage-en-caledonie-1633292.html
RECIF Film Festival: Information and participation guidelines for education professionals
Article dated June 27, 2025, available on the Vice-Rectorate of New Caledonia website
https://documentation.ac-noumea.nc/spip.php?article581
RECIF, the new New Caledonian film festival dedicated to Pacific films
Article dated June 1, 2025, available on the LNC website
https://www.lnc.nc/article/nouvelle-caledonie/culture/recif-le-nouveau-festival-caledonien-de-cinema-dedie-aux-films-du-pacifique
RECIF, a new film festival
Article dated May 29, 2025, available on the DNC website
https://www.dnc.nc/recif-un-nouveau-festival-de-cinema/
What you need to know about “RECIF”, the new cinema festival in New Caledonia
Article dated May 28, 2025, available on NC la 1ère
https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/nouvellecaledonie/fictions-caledoniennes-et-du-pacifique-concours-ce-qu-il-faut-savoir-sur-recif-le-nouveau-festival-du-cinema-en-nouvelle-caledonie-1590600.html
