Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 8, 1 August 1996 — Polynesian films visit Hawaiʻi [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Polynesian films visit Hawaiʻi

Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) will be holding its third Annual Pacific Island Images Film Festival from July 31 through August 4. This statewide festival features films and videos from indigenous producers that explore issues close to the hearts of Pacific Islanders. Special guest filmakers include acclaimed Maori filmmaker Merata Mita, who will introduce her feature film Mauri and Raratongan Karin Williams, producer-director of The Voyage Home: Hawai'iloa' s Northwest Journey. O Tamaiti, a 35-mm black and white short, marks the directorial debut of Samoan Sima Urale. The film will make its Hawai'i premiere during the festival. Other highlights include Elizabeth Lindsey's Then There Were None, the three-part PIC documentary series Pacific Diaries, and Tala Pasifika, a eompilaūon of short works by new Samoan and Maori writers and filmmakers.

"In our community, it's a rare treat to see images of ourselves in leading roles and to hear stories from our own points of view," says PIC Executive Director Lurline McGregor. "These programs speak directly to our own communities and are compelling to audiences that know nothing about us.

Seeing the work of our Pacific Islander brothers and sisters will hopefully inspire the rest us to tell our own stories." McGregor added that for the first time, PIC will screen student productions, featuring works by students from Wai'anae High School and Kapunahala Elementary School. See a listing of these films in the calendar on page 19. For more information eall Ann Moriyasu at 591-0059.

Scene from Mauri, a film that shown at the Annual Pacific lsland lmages Film Festival