France 2 and “Beau Geste” Spotlight Ken Carlter’s TORU, the First Tahitian Dance Feature Film in Cinema History

Nov 3

3 min read

For the launch of its 5th season, France 2’s premier cinema magazine show, hosted by Pierre Lescure, dedicated an exclusive behind-the-scenes segment to the opening day of filming for TORU, directed by Tahitian filmmaker Ken Carlter. This exceptional season premiere achieved an all-time record television audience for the broadcast on the national network.

A Record-Breaking Season Premiere on France 2

On Sunday, October 18, 2026, France Télévisions’ flagship cinema program, Beau Geste, kicked off its fifth season with a high-profile opening broadcast, drawing a historic record viewership on France 2.

Out of a curated selection, only four subjects were featured in this premiere episode:

The headline interview with Simon Abkarian following the box-office success of the feature film De Gaulle,
Followed by the segment Le Petit Beau Geste, hosted by content creator LalaCinema:
- The feature film Gradiva,
- The retrospective exhibition honoring Jean-Paul Belmondo currently showing in Paris,
- And the first days of principal photography for TORU, the psychological thriller directed by Ken Carlter, with the film's storyline taking place directly within the universe of the Hip’s League.

For the Hip’s League and the entire production team, it is a significant honor to be among the four works selected to open this new film season, along with the pride of having contributed, on its own scale, to the historic audience record set by the show that evening.

TV Show Link : https://www.france.tv/france-2/beau-geste/8922657-emission-du-dimanche-18-octobre-2026.html

(Broadcast excerpt at 21:00 – Segment: “Le Petit Beau Geste”)

“Ken Carlter Is a Pioneer”

On air, Lalacinema’s voice-over set the stage for the project while introducing the director:

“A star singer and producer in French Polynesia who (co-)created the Heiva i Paris, Ken Carlter took the opportunity to shoot the first scenes of his debut feature film: a fantasy thriller rooted in Polynesian mythology. The story of three female dancers attacked in a theater by strangers who will soon regret ever stepping inside.”

At the 21-minute mark of the broadcast, within the Le Petit Beau Geste segment, the film commentator dedicated more than two minutes of on-set immersion captured at Théâtre Bobino in Paris.

Beyond the sheer scale of the setup—deploying no fewer than 10 cameras to capture the live dance performance for the opening sequence (“That’s my Ridley Scott side,” Ken Carlter joked during his interview)—and the raw power of Polynesian percussion, the program highlighted the historic milestone of the production: TORU stands as the very first feature film centered on 'Ori Tahiti in cinema history, as well as the first film directed by a Tahitian filmmaker produced in the United States.

On air, Lalacinema emphasized the cultural and cinematic importance of this initiative:

« French Polynesia has often served as a backdrop for film shoots, but apart from a few documentaries and a single fiction film, one cannot truly speak of a Tahitian cinema. Ken is therefore a pioneer. »

After sharing his cinematic influences—from Alfred Hitchcock for suspense to Terrence Malick for the mystical, spiritual dimension—Ken Carlter spoke about having had to master every stage of the filmmaking craft on his own (directing, editing, color grading) in order to overcome prejudice and elevate his culture onto the world stage:

“We are very small in an increasingly vast world, and we need to put our culture forward.”

The segment concluded with Ken Carlter addressing the Bobino stage, embodying the spirit of cultural transmission and the universal reach of the work:

“Vive le cinéma, Ia ora te teata!”

Warm Acknowledgments

The Hip’s League - World tahitian Dance League and the production of TORU wish to express their sincere gratitude to the show’s editor-in-chief, Sophie Soulignac, who traveled in person alongside Lalacinema to cover these foundational moments, as well as to senior publicity manager Carole Chomand for coordinating and driving this media milestone.

Born out of an independent ecosystem uniting nearly 5 million followers and 2.5 billion views across digital platforms, TORU is actively moving through its production phase ahead of its next scheduled filming milestones in Los Angeles.