Distributors: The Queen’s Influence is now available on FilmHub

The Tongan Traditions office at the Palace in Nuku’alofa. This office was established by Queen Salote to keep the rich Tongan culture alive. The staff demonstrates that they too know how to Hiko…and learned this very young in schools and at home.

Luseanne is one of the founders of creating the cultural dance at the Queen Salote College. They took the ancient chant, put it to song and dance. The College and all the dancers are definitely Keeping Hiko Alive !

In the capital of Tonga, Nuku’alofa the art of Hiko is becoming lost though many women demonstrate their juggling techniques which they learned as a girl.

This film is a reminder to all the women of Tonga and the world to Keep Hiko Alive! It is empowering for all women and girls and it’s a beautiful tradition that should remain alive for centuries to come.

Hiko is a vanishing culture and this film documents how a 300-year-old tradition can be lost so easily. In a country where only women juggle beyond world record status…We don’t want this unique women’s culture to vanish.

WINNER BEST TRAVEL DOCUMENTARY! Golden Gate Int’l Film Fest. Also Premieres at Breckenridge Film Fest and World Film Fest LA for the Feature length version (62 minutes).

October 26!

A multi-generational film of a unique, vanishing culture of Polynesian women jugglers in The Kingdom of Tonga. Their unique style and approach is only in this tiny country of 150 islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Queen Salote’s vision back in the 1950’s helps keep the tradition alive by taking Hiko into a Cultural Dance at the Queen Salote College.

Hiko is life. Hiko gives happiness. Hiko inspires all women and girls and men don’t play HIko. These beautiful women can truly call it their own.

Queen Salote became a superstar in 1953 in London at Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation where she put Tonga on the map. ‘Hiko in Tonga’ gives insight into how Queen Salote empowered the women of Tongan and made sure cultural dance would be kept intact told with historical footage and a first hand account of these robust days for Tonga.

The Polynesian Culture of Hiko is usually for females only. Mat weaving and Hiko are two things the Tongan women can truly call their own. Keep Hiko Alive! is the purpose of this film. The director/producer/writer Paprika Leaverton is a professional juggler and magician and plans on visiting Tonga again in 2024 to promote the film and offer Hiko Parties to keep this wonderful tradition alive.