Ernest paddles a canoe out to sea to fish for bonito in the Maraufu initiation ritual. This is the first time in 30 years that this tradition has been practiced again in this remote region of the Solomon Islands. The village elders are familiar with it, but it has been lost over the last generation.
Ernest is a quiet, dreamy boy. The pressure on his shoulders is great when he is chosen to be the first boy to catch a bonito when the village's House of Initiation reopens. To learn the traditional art of fishing, Ernest undergoes months of training. The whole community rallies around his initiation.
If he returned with the sacred fish in his hands, he would be welcomed into the community as a man.
When, at the age of 15, he boards his frail skiff for several hours of hard labor, he doesn't know if he'll pass the test. Below him, there are sharks, and above, an uncertain sky. In this context, he must catch one of the fastest fish in the world, following it without frightening it and tipping the canoe over, equipped only with a traditional fishing rod and a lure.
Direction: Adilah Dolaiano
Production: La Compagnie des Taxi-Brousse & Sukwadi Media for France Télévisions