20/06/2026
Saddened to hear of the passing of Sione Lolohea today 😔
When I first started filming, I had a passion for storytelling — capturing ordinary people and sharing their life stories.
I had the honour of meeting Sione and documenting his journey of selling flowers on the side of the road.
Before meeting him, I would drive past him nearly every day for about a year. I always wondered who he was, and I'd often say to myself and to my wife "He's still there after a whole day."
At the time, I was in my first year of part-time filmmaking, and one day it clicked — I should document his story. As I drove past him, the thought came to me to ask if I could film him. So I did a U-turn, parked up, and finally got to meet this beautiful soul.
Sione was a proud Tongan man, and his story was truly inspirational ❤️
After releasing the short documentary, it spread across social media. People from Australia, New Zealand, America, and many other countries were touched by his story 😢. They donated and sent their best wishes.
The next time I saw Sione, he was so pleased and over the moon. Since the documentary was released, many people had come to support his small business 🙌🏽😲. People would park up and line up to buy his flowers 💐
He would sell out and would go back and stock up and sell more or sometimes call it a day.
People who also sells flowers in different areas heard about the doco and would ask him if they could sell their flowers at his stand 😆 me and Sione would laugh lol he told them after I sell all my flowers then you can come sell at my stand but I have to be there because people are coming to see me 😁
We laughed with joy together. I never imagined the documentary would receive so much attention.
My heartfelt condolences go out to Mrs. Lolohea, his children, grandchildren, family, and friends during this difficult time after losing such a kind and beautiful soul 😞
In loving memory, my friend.
Ofa atu 💔🕊
Dave – PARKER FILMS
