Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 4, 1 April 2005 — DOCUMENTING SPIRIT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

DOCUMENTING SPIRIT

[?]

By Derek Ferrar On March 15, viewers across the islands watched the television premier of The HawaiiansReflecting Spirit, the latest documentary by noted Hawai'i filmmaker Edgy Lee, produced with major funding from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The film, whieh spotlights the spiritual origins, cultural history and present-day struggles of the Hawaiian people, will air again on April

15 at 7 p.m. on KHON-Channel 2, and is expected to be released on DVD in late April or early May. Lee said her hope in making the film was to bring deeper awareness of the "great and beautiful" Hawaiian culture to a national puhlie whose image of Hawaiians often remains shaped by Hollywood "hula-hula" stereotypes. "We tried our very best to reflect a well-rounded image of the Native Hawaiian culture," she said at a premiere showing of the film at Honolulu's elegant

Hawai'i Theatre. "We in Hawai'i should be very proud, because the Hawaiian culture has so mueh to teach the rest of wthe world." Narrated in the rich voice of Hawaiian scholar Winona Rubin, the film traces Hawaiian cultural history from the mythical union of Papa and Wākea to the struggles of present-day cultural practitioners to preserve their heritage in the modern world. Shot in state-of-the-art high-definition video, the documentary features an artistic, emotional

treatment along with stunning visuals of Hawai'i's unique natural environment. Hawaiian elders and cultural practitioners interviewed in the film range from celestial navigator Nainoa Thompson and U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka to herbal healer Alapai Kahuena and traditional salt-maker Wilma Holi. Among others featured are Hawaiian language expert Puakea Nogelmeier, musician and kumu hula Keali'i Reichel, See HAWAIIANS on page 1 1

HAWAIIANS from page 1 farmer John Kaina and elders from the island of Ni'ihau.

"I hope the film will bring more awareness of what Hawai'i is all about, not just on the mainland but in other parts of the world too," Kaina said after the Hawai'i Theatre premiere. "Then maybe they ean help us protect what is being lost." OHATrusteeBoydMossman, who played a primary role in the agency's funding of the film, said that The Hawaiians "sends a powerful message to the world about the Hawaiians' special spirit." Mossman said OHA funded the film "to present to the people of the world a more accurate image of who we are as Hawaiians, that

we are a umque people with a culture and history that is not what many people in the world think it is." "We're so pleased with the results, and thankful to OHA for taking the leadership

to make this film possible," said Neil Hannahs, director of Kamehameha Schools' Land Assets Division, whieh also helped fund the film. "At the land division of Kamehameha Sehoo1s we fee1

a great sense of kuleana to help tell this story of Hawaiians' deep relationship with the 'āina, whieh is so important to the survival of our people." The Hawaiiam is the seventh documentary produced in and about Hawai'i by artist-turned-filmmaker Lee, whose family has been in the islands for five generations. Her previous documentaries have covered such topics as the traditions of the Hawaiian paniolo (cowboys), the construction of Waiklkl and the history of Papakōlea homestead. Last year, her powerful expose on the human cost of Hawai'i's crystal

meth epidemic sparked unprecedented media exposure and community dialogue when it was broadcast simultaneously on 11 television and seven radio stations.

"We tried our very best to reflect a well-rounded image of the Native Hawaiian culture," Lee said at the Hawai'i Theatre premiere of the film. Photo: Sterling Kini Wong