Professor Vilsoni Hereniko is from Hapmak in Rotuma but now lives in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. He is a professor at the University of Hawaiiʻs Academy for Creative Media, as well as a playwright, screenwriter, and film director. 

He is an author of several books and has written a large body of creative and scholarly articles and essays. 

His feature film "Pear ta ma ʻon Maf: The Land Has Eyes" is in his native language (Rotuman) and had its world premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It also won "Best Film" at the Inaugural Wairoa Maori Film Festival. 

He has a Masters Degree from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England and a Ph. D. from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.