Red, White & Brass 2023

The film centers around John Paul Foliaki as Maka, a Tongan New Zealander rugby fan who is determined to secure tickets to the 2011 Rugby World Cup clash between Tonga and France in Wellington on October 1, 2011. Maka’s world soon collides with his ambitious cousin Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Veni, who is eager to climb the social ladder and regards Maka as a loser.

After a church fundraising effort, Maka buys fake tickets from a local criminal. His mother manages to recover the funds, but it’s too late to secure real tickets. Still determined to watch the game, Maka conceives the idea of forming a brass band to perform during pre-match entertainment. With only four weeks to go, he assembles an impromptu group composed of Veni, his father, his girlfriend, and several church members, along with a recent Tongan migrant who used to be in a brass band and a local Pakeha music teacher to train and acquire instruments.

With help from Aroha, a Māori woman who works for the Wellington City Council, Maka secures an audition to represent the Tongan community at the pre-match show. But the audition goes off the rails when he tries some modern hip-hop moves, and the City Council rejects the group’s application. Footage of the botched audition circulates on social media, embarrassing the Tongan community and its elders.

Undeterred, Maka persuades Aroha and the City Council to reconsider by staging an impromptu performance by the brass band. Although the elders oppose, Maka’s father convinces them to compromise: the team will perform a traditional Tongan hymn. The Tongan community pitches in with red costumes for the group.

On the day of the France vs Tonga match, the band opens with the hymn but weaves in contemporary hip-hop moves, and the crowd responds warmly to the bold, hopeful display. The post-credits blurb notes that Tonga beat France 19–14.