Fa'afiaula Sagote (1980 or 1981"Tusi Tamasese: A voice from Samoa"
''New Zealand Herald'', 8 September 2011 – 24 October 2022) was a Samoan actor. Sagote was working as a

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

farmer and carpenter when he was approached by the director

Tusi Tamasese Tusi Tamasese (born in 1975 or 1976 in Samoa) is a Samoan New Zealander film director. He is of high chiefly descent, of the Tupua Tamasese lineage. He came to New Zealand at the age of 18 with the intention to go to university, but, lacking a ...

, who offered him the lead part – that of

dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

farmer Saili – in what was to be Samoa's first ever

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

, ''

The Orator ''The Orator'', also known as (Italian), ( Etruscan) or (Latin), is an Etruscan bronze sculpture from the late second or the early first century BC. Aulus Metellus was an Etruscan senator in the Roman republic, originally from Perugia or Cort ...

'' (2011). The character is an ordinary man, looked down upon due to his lack of height, who seeks the strength to prove he can reclaim his father's chiefly status. In its review of the film, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described him as playing the part in a "tremendously soulful-eyed" way. For his performance, Sagote was a finalist for the Best Performance by an Actor Award at the 5th

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...

. Sagote used part of his earnings from the film to buy a taxi for his brother. Sagote died on 24 October 2022, at the age of 41.Beloved Samoan actor who starred in hit Samoan-NZ film The Orator dies
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References

External links

*
Trailer
of the film ''The Orator'' on NZonScreen 1980s births Year of birth uncertain 2022 deaths Actors of Samoan descent Actors with dwarfism Samoan male actors {{Asia-actor-stub