EYE OF THE OCTOPUS

A 13-year old boy from a New Zealand city goes to Ribono, a remote and tiny Pacific island in the Kiribati group.

On an isolated atoll, he faces a number of tests of courage; first he has to learn to climb a tall coconut palm, then he has to master a canoe built specially for him, third he has to learn skindiving- not only in the sheltered lagoon but also in the ocean, within sight of sharks and over colourful but deadly coral reefs.

Then comes the toughest test of all. He has to catch an octopus, and kill it by the traditional island method: biting it between the eyes.

This film, stunningly photographed by Ian Paul, includes spectacular and unique underwater footage - not only the 13 year old in the open sea with sharks, but the final never before seen test of courage with the octopus, an animal whose tentacles are strong enough to kill a grown man.

The city boy in the film is Conrad Siers, son of the filmmaker. Three years before, Conrad and his adventurer father were shipwrecked and spent 16 days adrift in the Pacific on a life raft. With them was a 40 year old sailor from Kiribati named Tarabo Teem. This island visit is the first reunion between the boy and the islander who had faced near-death three years before.