I'm seated, with my mother, on a palace veranda, cooled by a breeze from the royal garden. Before us, on a dais, is an empty throne, its arms and legs embossed with polished brass, the back and seat covered in black-and-gold silk. In front of the steps to the dais, there are two columns of people, mostly men, facing one another, seated on carved wooden stools, the cloths they wear wrapped around their chests, leaving their shoulders bare. Read More...

Then there's Hollywood's interpretation of the island... To see that, check out Reel Paradise, a movie about the saga of American film maker maker John Pierson who in 2002 relocated his family to Taveuni for a year to show free movies at the venerable Meridian Cinema near Waiyevo. Read More...

Interview with John and Janet Pierson - Reel Paradise On the latest episode of DVD Talk Radio, DVD Talk Editor Geoffrey Kleinman speaks with John and Janet Pierson about the DVD release for Reel Paradise. Read More...

No Family Is an Island BY SPENCER PARSONS The Piersons on 'Reel Paradise' Read More...

Reel Paradise: Review BY Marc Savlov When it comes to mid-life crises, some guys buy Porsches, some nail hot blondes, and some just muddle through. Freshly minted Austinite and famed producer's rep/author/gadabout John Pierson chose to relocate his entire family. Read More...

'Reel Paradise': Moving Theater Experience in Fiji by Alex Chadwick American movie buff and independent filmmaker John Pierson moved his family to Fiji in 2002 in search of "the world's most remote theater." Read More...

Reel Paradise: Review By Roger Ebert Steve James' new documentary, "Reel Paradise," is about a couple with similar idealism, who also move to a small town and buy the movie theater. Read More...

Reel Paradise: Review By Kevin Crust MOVIE REVIEW: A family, a film house and Fiji. Read More...

Taking popcorn fare to paradise By Merrill Balassone It's like moviegoing is new again when a producer shows free films in Fiji. Read More...

How an American family moved to Fiji and brought Hollywood along for the ride By Edward Guthmann After 25 years of making top-notch indie films, John Pierson needed to escape. So off to Fiji he went, bringing his family to begin a new life. He documented the experience in "Reel Paradise." Read More...

Keeping It 'Reel' in Paradise By ANDY KLEIN In 2002, well known indie film figure John Pierson - producer's rep for She's Gotta Have It, Clerks, and Roger & Me, host of IFC's Split Screen series, and author of Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes - picked up his family and moved to Fiji for a year to show free movies. Read More...

LA Weekly: Film By Scott Foundas The final month of Pierson's quixotic quest is chronicled by documentary filmmaker Steve James in Reel Paradise and the result is an enormously warm, comic travelogue about how you can go to the ends of the earth and still not escape from temperamental teenagers, absentee landlords and the universal language of moving pictures. Read More...

Creating a Free Cinema Off Beaten Track in Fiji By STEPHEN HOLDEN Steve James's absorbing documentary follows a family to the rural Fijian island of Taveuni, where they showed free movies in the world's most remote movie theater. Read More...

'Paradise' found in Fiji By LILY OEI Indiewood came out in droves Monday to celebrate the Gotham preem of Wellspring's "Reel Paradise." Read More...

A Cinema So Indie It's 5,000 Miles Away By David Hochman The Pierson's experiences running a cinema in Fiji are the subject of the documentary "Reel Paradise." Read More...

On Screen and In a New City, Austin Embraces The Pierson Family By Eugene Hernandez These days, aside from traveling to a few film festivals to talk about Steve James' Miramax doc about their time in Fiji, "Reel Paradise," the Pierson's have become key figures within the Austin film scene. Read More...

Variety - Reel Paradise By Todd McCarthy Indie film guru John Pierson goes native, sort of, in "Reel Paradise," an engaging docu about his year-long stint showing free movies to the locals at what's purportedly the world's most remote cinema, the 180 Meridian in Taveuni, Fiji. Read More...

Sundance #3: Of heart and humor By Roger Ebert Another Sundance doc is also a wonderful portrait of an unexpected lifetime. Steve James, who directed "Hoop Dreams," is here with "Reel Paradise," the story of a New Yorker named John Pierson, who distributed and represented the films of Spike Lee, Kevin Smith and many other indie directors, and hosted "Split Screen," an IFC program on independent films. Read More...

Paradise Found By Bill Chambers Hoop-dream master Steve James on his latest film, REEL PARADISE Read More...

Isle of Forgotten Fans By John Pierson I recently became the proud owner of the world's most remote movie theater. A year from now, you could be wearing a T-shirt that says, "I saw it at the 180 Meridian Cinema." At least that's how I see it. Read More...

Fiji Favorites: Guys in Dresses By Dave Kehr The Piersons are back, and the New York independent film community is happy to see them home. Read More...