03 / The film

Few knew the man.

Format
Feature documentary
Runtime
106 minutes
Country
Aotearoa New Zealand
Year
2026

A complex portrait of Jonah Lomu, the most adored son of the Pacific and rugby's first global superstar. Beyond the sporting biography is a Pasifika story of identity, faith, collective responsibility and the vulnerability behind a legend.

Through a wealth of archive footage and intimate interviews with friends and family—including his mother Hepi and brother John—the film follows Jonah from his Tongan roots and South Auckland upbringing to unprecedented global fame.

It is a story about representation and the changing shape of rugby, but also about living with nephrotic syndrome while the world projected invincibility onto your body.

Filmmakers and festival journey

Directed by

  • Vea Mafile'o
  • Gavin Fitzgerald

Produced by

  • Emma Slade
  • Victoria Dabbs
  • Victoria Barrell

Festival journey

  • Dublin International Film Festival — World Premiere
  • Glasgow Film Festival
  • Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival

Lomu production credits

Lomu. A 2026 New Zealand feature documentary, 106 minutes. Directed by Vea Mafile'o and Gavin Fitzgerald. Produced by Emma Slade, Victoria Dabbs and Victoria Barrell.

NextSeptember 3

Official trailer · 02:13

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