Reel Paradise
Release Date:
August 17, 2005
Limited release
From the director of Hoop Dreams comes this documentary that follows an indie film maven as he takes his family for an year-long adventure in the Fiji Islands as they ran the 180 Meridian Cinema - the world's most remote movie theater.
Pierson was the executive producer of Chasing Amy, and also wrote the popular book Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes. Additionally, he created the IFC cable show split screen. For one episode of that show, Pierson and his family went to Fiji as they were in search of the most distant theater they could find. In the end, after falling in love with the 180 Meridian Cinema thanks to the audience's enthusiasm for a Three Stooges short, he decided to move his family across the world to see what movies meant to an entirely different society.
The island where they moved was Taveuni, which is not particularly a popular tourist destination. Instead, the residents there work hand-to-mouth to provide sustenance for their families. Most of the people there are farmers, fishermen, and merchants. For the locals, the Piersons are considered to be millionaires.
The Pierson children enrolled in the local Catholic high school and are the only white students in their classes. Quickly, despite some differences, they make friends with kids who soon come to see the Pierson residence as a second home.
The focal point, though, is the movie theater. Pierson shows the islanders films such as Bend It Like Beckham, The Scorpion King, Matrix Reloaded, Bringing Down the House and Jackass. Ultimately, Pierson searches out the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill, Jr., because he believes the natives will connect with the climactic hurricane sequence. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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