Kava - The Drink of the Gods (58 min. TV-Documentary, Vanuatu, Samoa, Fiji)

Documentary by Thorolf Lipp. First broadcast by German TV (Bayerischer Rundfunk) in September 2000. This film is a journey through three countries in Oceania: Samoa, Fiji, and Vanuatu. It gives insight into kava rituals as they were carried out in the late 1990s. Through kava, a drink made from the roots of the pepperplant, friendships are formed, visitors welcomed, and chiefly authority sanctioned. But even though kava is increasingly bought, sold and consumed within non-ritual contexts, even tough it is extracted, packaged, and produced for global markets, kava is more than just a cultural relic; it is becoming a symbol of identity for many Pacific Islanders as for Oceania as a whole: Kava will always remain: The drink of the Gods. This is a shortened and slightly re-edited TV version of the original educational documentary produced by the Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific that can be found here:    • Kava - The Drink of the Gods (90 min. docu...   Festivals: 2000 - Ethnofilmfest Berlin (www.ethnofilmfest.de/).