06/29/2026
As we wrap our 6th season of Māsima Film Festival, we also bid farewell to our longtime leader Lauren To'omalatai. Lauren began her journey with Pacific Island Knowledge 2 Action Resources in 2016 attending a free film screening. She would go on to be a volunteer in our Pasifika Enriching Arts Of Utah and Utah Pacific Island Film Series programs and would later become the Director of the Utah Pacific Island Film Series.
During her time with the Utah Pacific Island Film Series, Lauren organized many free community screenings, workshops, and opportunities for our Pasifika filmmakers and artists to collaborate and gather. co-founded Māsima Film Festival with the Salt Lake Film Society's generous support. The first Pacific Islander focused, and run, film festival in the U.S. that has also crossed statelines and held screenings in Los Angeles. Lauren is proud of her work as Festival Director and Lead Programmer, shepherding 100 films from all across the globe and showcasing them in our Māsima Film Festival program across 6 years which also included redistributing $17,000+ back in to the pockets of our filmmakers. Every film that has ever exhibited in Māsima has been compensated and Lauren is grateful to SLFS for blazing a trail where our storytellers are paid for their work.
Lauren now works at the Utah Film Center in their Artist Foundry program as the Artist Foundry Manager which focuses on supporting local filmmakers. She encourages her Pacific Islander community to seek her out and consider her work with the Utah Film Center a continuation of the role she played within PIK2AR, PEAU, and UPIFS.
We thank you, Lauren, for all your dedication to PIK2AR and our Pacific Islander community here in Utah. We look forward to seeing the ways you continue to champion our artists and that Māsima is part of your legacy. Please join us in congratulating Lauren, thanking her for her service, and supporting her in her future endeavors to carve out and claim more space for Pasifika in filmmaking!
