A Wellspring Release
REEL PARADISE is the new film from
Steve James, the acclaimed director of
“Hoop Dreams” and “Stevie.” REEL PARADISE
tells the story of one American family’s unique
adventure running a cinema in one of the
most isolated villages on the planet.
John Pierson, noted indie film maven and
author of the classic book Spike, Mike,
Slackers & Dykes, uprooted his family for a
year and moved them to Taveuni, the most
remote island off Fiji. In REEL PARADISE, James documents the Pierson
family’s last month on the island and immerses the viewer in their
struggles and triumphs as they attempt to make a home in a very different
culture. John’s passion is the 180 Meridian Cinema, which becomes
the island’s focal point of entertainment after he makes admission
free and starts showing the most current popular worldwide releases, everything
from “Bend it Like Beckham” to “Jackass.”
In the meantime, his wife Janet and their two kids Wyatt
(13) and Georgia (16) immerse themselves in Fijian culture, discovering
in very personal ways what it’s like to be ‘haves’ in
a population of ‘have-nots,’ particularly when the very meaning
of what it means to be a parent is challenged.
