Page 2 - Hawaii Island MIdWeek - Feb 24, 2021

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK FEBRUARY 24, 2021
Rotten
Finding Their Place In The Sun
BY CHRIS MCKINNEY
PAPAYAS
There’s something going on in Hawai‘i filmmaking. We’ve had filmmakers and actors for years here, but a possible leap in evolution has become impossible to ignore.
is rightfully starting to notice. Recently, a wonderfully ani- mated short directed by Hina- leimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson and Dan- iel Sousa titled Kapaemahu also qualified to be in the run- ning for an Oscar nomination. This short is about the ancient dual male and female spirits who brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawai‘i. The pulse of the Native Hawaiian film community is becoming loud and clear.
well on the festival circuit. I’m
When Finding ‘Ohana pre- miered on Netflix Jan. 29 and landed on the streaming ser- vice’s coveted top 10 (it’s No. 2 as I write this), I was pleasant- ly floored. A movie set in Ha- wai‘i starring a largely Pacific Islander cast making big waves on the national scene? I don’t remember seeing this before.
I’ m rooting for Finding ‘Ohana to maintain a high Netflix ranking. I’ m rooting forIWasASimpleMantodo
rooting for Moloka‘i Bound and Kapaemahu to get Oscar nominations. I’ m rooting for local and Native Hawaiian filmmaking in general. Oscar nominations will be announced March 15. The two short films will not be available to the general public again until the nomination results are offi- cial. I Was a Simple Man will probably show in other festi- vals before it’s distributed. In the meantime, watch Finding ‘Ohana, and please feel free to root with me.
chrismckinney808@gmail.com
Finding ‘Ohana is an adorable family film, a sort of sundae with two scoops of The Goonies, a sprinkle of Drunk History, and a big Native Hawaiian culture 101 cherry on top. The dialogue is quippy, and the story is heart- felt. Only people who hate puppies will despise this film.
Kea Peahu stars in the Netflix family film Finding ‘Ohana. FILE PHOTO
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But it’s not just Finding ‘Ohana. There are rumblings of other things as well. Christopher Yogi’s feature film I Was a Simple Man, which stars Steve Iwamoto and Constance Wu, made Sundance (I haven’t seen it yet, but plan to). A short film titled Moloka‘i Bound won the Oscar-qualifying Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award for Best Short Work at ImagineNA- TIVE. Written and directed by Alika Maikau, Moloka‘i Bound is a simple, one-scene, eight-minute film about a young father attempting to reconnect with his son. Hold- en Mandrial-Santos plays the father and, man, there’s something there. The real- ness of his performance sings with potential. By the middle
of the film, I was thinking, imagine a dose of Danielle Zalopany in this thing. And a couple of minutes later, Zalopany showed up as the mother, and I laughed.
viewed last year and starred Zalopany, Moloka‘i Bound is not a perfect film, but it’s very good. And it’s good in large part because of the lead, Man- drial-Santos. He is understat- edly authentic.
Specifically, there’s some- thing going on in the Native Hawaiian filmmaking com- munity in general. Native Hawaiians are beginning to seize control of their narra- tives, and maybe Hollywood
Like Waikīkī, which I re-
Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest). Answers are on page 11
RATING: BRONZE