{"id":15921,"date":"2025-07-23T12:20:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15921\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T12:20:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:20:13","slug":"7-movies-and-tv-shows-filmed-in-fiji-from-cast-away-to-love-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15921\/","title":{"rendered":"7 movies and TV shows filmed in Fiji, from Cast Away to Love Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The 2004 Fijian film The Land Has Eyes is special. It is the only feature film to date from the island of Rotuma<\/a>, whose indigenous people have a distinct language and culture from mainland groups of Fiji.<\/p>\n

The story is based on the local legend telling of a young Rotuman girl (Sapeta Taito) who plots revenge after her father is accused of theft by a neighbour. New Zealand\u2019s Rena Owen stars as Warrior Woman in the film, which landed a Premiere Festival Prize for best overall entry at the 2005 Waiora M\u0101ori Film Festival<\/a> in New Zealand. <\/p>\n

2. Cast Away\"AA still of Wilson with ice cream from the new Tourism Fiji campaign. Photo \/ Tourism Fiji<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know the movie is good when you create an emotional connection with a volleyball.\u201d<\/p>\n

So read a popular comment on YouTube. And it\u2019s true. Filmed on Monuriki Island off the coast of the mainland, Viti Levu<\/a>, the story is about FedEx executive Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) surviving on his own on a deserted island for four years after his plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean following a storm.<\/p>\n

AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n

The scene of a dishevelled Noland screaming out, \u201cWilson! Wilson! I\u2019m sorry!\u201d as he desperately swims towards the blood-stained volleyball floating adrift broke many hearts, etching its way as an iconic moment in contemporary cinematic history.<\/p>\n

3. The Blue Lagoon series<\/p>\n

The survival-romance trope is one that Fiji can\u2019t, or won\u2019t, shake off.<\/p>\n

Adding to its list are The Blue Lagoon (1980) and the sequel, The Return of the Blue Lagoon (1991).<\/p>\n

The first Randal Kleiser film, based on the 1908 novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, follows the tale of two young cousins and the ship\u2019s cook marooned on an island in the Yasawas, left to fend for themselves in the 19th century. <\/p>\n

Discover more<\/p>\n

Its sequel has a similar plot involving two young children and a romance that transpires between them as they grow older. This one was filmed in Taveuni<\/a>, also known as the Garden Island of Fiji, which is home to the rare tagimocia flower, as well as Turtle Island.<\/p>\n

4. Love Island USA<\/p>\n

The popular reality dating show that\u2019s so bad it\u2019s good draws good-looking singles to a flash villa in the tropics. And it has favoured Fiji as its location of choice for several seasons.<\/p>\n

Love Island USA launched in the Pacific Harbour at the Villa Takali. After a three-year hiatus, the show returned to Fiji from season five in the Mamanuca Islands, where it has been filmed since.<\/p>\n

Lying off the coast of Nadi, the archipelago comprising about 20 islands is popular as a luxury destination for tourists. One of the islands is even named Castaway<\/a>, though its name precedes the film Cast Away.<\/p>\n

5. Survivor USA <\/p>\n

When Survivor USA appeared on the telly at the turn of the millennium, reality TV was changed forever. The show made regular Joes and Sheilas famous while launching into the cultural zeitgeist. The American show, which has around 50 international versions, has had Jeff Probst as its host since launch.<\/p>\n

Contestants are dropped off on a remote island, where they are divided into two tribes. They compete against each other for rewards like food, comfort or immunity from elimination. They gather at the tribe council to take a vote on who should be eliminated, leading to a final winner claiming a significant cash prize.<\/p>\n

AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a>\"SouthSouth Sea Island in the Mamanuca Island archipelago. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n

Since season 33 in 2016, Survivor USA has been filmed in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. In May, the show wrapped up its 48th season.<\/p>\n

6. Adrift <\/p>\n

The survival drama 2018 film is based on the true shipwreck story of Richard Sharp and fianc\u00e9e Tami Oldham, who try to survive after their yacht capsizes amid a ferocious hurricane in the Pacific Ocean in 1983. According to production notes, more than 90% of the film was shot in the open water of Fiji, with some staging done in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

7. The Bachelorette USA<\/p>\n

Season 7 of the American version of The Bachelorette had dentist and dance instructor Ashley Herbert seeking true love, rose by rose, in various locations in Fiji, including at the Namale Resort & Spa in Savusavu.<\/p>\n

The finale of Charity Lawson\u2019s season was also filmed in Fiji.<\/p>\n

Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the lifestyle team at the Herald. Based in Auckland, she covers travel, culture and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2004 Fijian film The Land Has Eyes is special. It is the only feature film to date…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[617,64,63,17356,17355,17363,134,3739,1689,15459,5587,1644,1899,4717,17358,17357,344,17362,17360,17361,440,17359,319,427],"class_list":["post-15921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-and","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-away","tag-cast","tag-chosen","tag-entertainment","tag-fiji","tag-film","tag-filmed","tag-from","tag-good","tag-have","tag-in","tag-island","tag-love","tag-movies","tag-productions","tag-reason","tag-several","tag-shows","tag-theres","tag-to","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}