An Island Calling

In July 2001 John Scott and his partner Greg Scrivener were killed in their home in Fiji. From an old European-Fiji family, John was head of Fiji's Red Cross, and a go-between in the hostage crisis during the 2000 coup. Annie Goldson's documentary traces the killings, their aftermath, and the political crises marking Fiji's recent history. An Island Calling won six awards, including Best Documentary and Camera at the 2008 Qantas Film and TV Awards. In this opening excerpt, John's brother Owen returns to explore his family's connections to Fiji, his larger than life father, and how Europeans had much of the power in the 1960s. 

We were still British, we were still colonial. Suva was a European town — it was a white place ... Not only was it run by Europeans, there were whole suburbs of Europeans running the government. Even bank tellers were Europeans. Fijians were not allowed to come in freely until 1966.

– Fijian lawyer Jon Apted describes Suva in the 1960s

Key Cast & Crew

Wayne Vinten

Cinematographer

Owen Scott

Writer, Narrator

David Long

Composer

Bill Toepfer

Editor

Annie Goldson

Director, Writer, Producer, Additional Editing

Eric De Beus

Editor