Plot

A morally complex post-colonial tragedy, the story of a murder and of Fiji, a small country divided along ethnic and class lines, told through the eyes of two very different families.

Director of the Fiji Red Cross John Scott and his partner of 20 years, Greg Scrivener were brutally murdered in the name of God by a young indigenous man, Apete Kaisau. John had reached international notice during the coup of 2000 when he assisted hostages seized by coup leader George Speight. He was also from one of the most powerful European Fijian families. The documentary explores a "Pacific paradise" fraught by its colonial history, ethnic and tribal tensions, class differences and political coups.—Anonymous

The 2001 murder of John Scott and his partner Greg Scrivener in Suva is still clouded in media rumor and political mystery. They were "out" as a couple - an unusual choice of lifestyle in Fiji. Although the country has a visible trans-gender culture, Fiji has become increasingly fundamentalist and homophobic since the 1987 coup, a shift reinforced by the introduction of new religious strains from the United States. One of the murdered men, John Scott, was famous for other reasons too: a fourth-generation, Fiji-born European, he came from a powerful colonial family. And as the Director-General of the Fiji Red Cross, he gained international attention during the coup of 2000 when he took the courageous step of assisting hostages trapped in Parliament for 56 days. A year after the coup, John and Greg were dead. A 22-year-old Fijian, Apete Kaisau, was ultimately charged with the killings. The media claimed political conspiracy, drug use, pornography and rent boys. But the reason why Apete undertook such an act remained unclear. Was the murder a political assassination, a bad love affair, or an act of revenge, guilt or insanity? Does the "culture of coups" that Fiji has experienced since 1987 encourage individuals to turn to violent solutions? Guided by Owen Scott, John's brother, we meet friends, lawyers, and gay activists, both seasoned commentators and acquaintances of the murdered pair. And we meet the Kaisau family; whose deep religious faith has framed their understanding of the events. The film is an intricate murder mystery, but it is one that seeks to explain the killer's motive and context rather than reveal his identity. But the personal in the film is always political too; its stories are firmly embedded within Fiji's historical and contemporary landscape. An Island Calling is morally complex, a post-colonial tale of a country deeply divided along tribal, class and ethnic lines, told through the eyes of two very different families.—Anonymous