Heart of Light – eleven songs for Fiji
GER, FRA 2026, 166 min
After a long absence, Iona (Tilda Swinton) returns to Fiji, the archipelago of her childhood. Heart of Light – eleven songs for Fiji tells of a spirit formed by the islands, fusing intimacy and collective history, fiction and documentary, social realities and poetic inspiration.
Synopsis
Heart of Light – eleven songs for Fiji is an accumulation of ‘divine small things’ in everyday Fijian life and landscapes, which create in us an understanding of something greater.
By fusing intimacy and collective history, fiction and documentary, social realities and poetic inspiration Heart of Light confronts Iona (Tilda Swinton) during the months of her return after a long absence to the islands of Fiji, where memories, an ancient culture, landscapes and encounters intertwine. For Iona, who feels herself both deeply attached to the islands and yet ‘an outsider’, it's an introspective and sensory journey of exploration, in a world whose culture is both close and distant. It's also an opportunity to question the identity of an Oceanian territory and the relationship to its ancestral land in its own post-colonial era. In this way the film challenges European notions of "post-colonialism" as an exterior, historical event.
Heart of Light – eleven songs for Fiji opens up and reveals the unpredictable spirit, the Art of the Real.
Press reviews
A speculative autobiography realised as an enchanting hybrid of ethnographic study and essayistic fiction. A monumental work of pure cinema! – Olaf Möller, IFFR International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2026
Loose and sprawling; a travelogue hybrid of narrative and narration untroubled by their interplay. – Morris Yang, In Review Online, 2026
„Heart of Light – Eleven Songs for Fiji", when you think about it, aims simply to speak of the desire to reach places that fully reflect the vital energy that pulses within every human being, of the fear of feeling alienated from a way of life that differs from what one is accustomed to, and of the subtle liminal space between these forces, a corner of darkness and solitude where one might discover, even if only for an instant, true peace. - Jacoco Garuti, Taxidrivers.it, 2026
Awards and Festivals
- International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026
- Bolzano Film Festival Bozen 2026
Credits
Written and directed by
Cynthia Beatt
With
Tilda Swinton, Talei Draunibaka, Nemia Vanua, Simione Sevudredre, Simon Fisher Turner, Ratu Jone Balenaivalu, Akuila Cavuilati, Jeke Tagicakibau, Sereima Divavani, Vilimaina Katonivere, Akuila Cavuilati, Jeke Tagicakibau, Peter Knaack, Viliame Ravai, Rudra Nand, Simra Nand, Joji Tamani, Lasarusa Moce, Esekaia Tukai Sovea, Kaulotu Waqa among many others…
Cinematography
Jenny Lou Ziegel
Additional camera
Frangipani Beatt / Timoci Saganatotoka Wilisoni
Sound recording
Manja Ebert
Editor
Cynthia Beatt / Till Beckmann
Music
Marlon Beatt, Talei Draunibaka, Nemia Vanua, Simione Sevudredre, Simon Fisher Turner, Mia Kami, Dakui Gau, Polotu Tokalau Village
Director’s Assistant
Faith Ganiviti Watling
Camera Assistant
Timoci Saganatotoka Wilisoni
Color grading
Till Beckmann
Sound Edit/Design
Marlon Beatt
Sound Mix
Jochen Jezussek
Technical Assistance
Till Beckmann
Commission Editor
Nicole Baum (ZDF/3Sat)
Production Manager
Sairusi Raiwalu
Production Assistant
Manya Halas, Jolanda Darbyshire, Nils Schröder
Producer
Cynthia Beatt
Co-Producer
Philippe Avril
Production
Heartbeatt Pictures
Co-Production
La Cinéfiliale
Supported by
German Cultural Ministry
Mini Traité – FFA / CNC
ZDF/3Sat
In cooperation with
FILM FIJI
Magnum Productions, Fiji
German Distribution
Filmgalerie 451
Distribution Details
Theatrical release: October 1, 2026, distributed by Filmgalerie 451.
Screening Format
DCP (4K, 5.1, 25fps)
Aspect Ratio
1,85:1
Language
English, Fijian, German
Subtitles
German, English
Promotion Material
A1 Poster, Flyer, Trailer
License Area
Germany
Rating
Without age restriction
