A hui making in happen

Aloha Mai kākou, Keili here!

Mahalo nui, Ethnomad, for taking a few minutes out of your day to check in, take a breath, and do a weekly daydream with me :)

Mahalo nui for all da beautiful recollections and reviews last week from the beautiful homies! Your kind words are more inspiring and uplifting than we could have imagined it’s so precious to see how the film and Nāhōkūho’okelewa’a are impacting our friends, family, and community.

There are a few orgs that deserve some special recognition. All of us want to make a difference, but many are deterred by fear away from action. This is a group that is all about action. A 29ft double hulled canoe that hosts a floating classroom, free of technology and filled with natures wonder. The voyaging academy, Kānehūnāmoku, sails the horizons of east Oʻahu with a Mission driven purpose to peroetuate the knowledge of Hawaiian navigatoom and provide academic advanvement through ocean knowledge to Hawaiian youth. When you watch them, you feel the fire. Teaching, talking story, even washing da dishes, it is all done with purpose - intention - to make Hawaii better, to be good stewards of this aina and moananuiakea, and good examples to the next generation of caretakers of Hawaiʻi.

Here are their shared thoughts after the film premier of ʻAʻā…

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Auē ua hiti ē! ‘A’a has arrived.

A beautiful gathering to celebrate Chris, Ke’ili and Kalani, three voyagers determined to return home to self and place as a means to remember who we truly are in this moment. Their journey time capsuled in a film that shares echoes of laughter and grit amidst the uncertainty of what lay ahead. Mahalo to our hoa Chris for asking Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy to be a community partner, a thoughtful gesture to align shared vision and kuleana for perpetuating the wa’a values and ‘ike that have been passed down to us by our kumu. Honoring always, our source of knowledge, Papa Mau Pialug – who without him, we would have no eyes to ho’okele wa’a. And honoring our ‘ike kupuna of all forms, elementally represented in ‘A’a the film, through hīhīmanu, manu, ao, wai, and all our ancestors. We are deeply inspired by the way Chris and Hana created sensory experiences with carefully layered mediums of expression through sound design, stop motion, animation, narration, and color. A fellow filmmaker, Tiare Ribeaux, defined the experience as “centered on joy” – a true nod to Papa Mau always reminding us to stay together and make happy :)

-Kuʻulei Kaʻili, Kānehūnāmoku Voyaging Academy

Another hui that deserves a shoutout is this local non-profit geared towards cleaning our beaches, bettering our future, and creating a sustainable Hawaiʻi - Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi. They share a mission to intentionally inspire personal understanding of the importance of environmental conservation and how urgently it is needed. If you are looking for a way to meet cool people who truly deeply care about this planet and our role in it, I highly recommend hanging out with these guys. One of those cool people is our good friend, Brit Penaroza, who was kind enough to write to us :)

This film moved me in a way that’s hard to put into words.

This is something entirely unique. As a human, a Hawaiian, a water woman, and a friend to Chris, it spoke deeply to my spirit. Beyond the absolutely stunning visual storytelling, Chris weaves a lighthearted, warm narrative that dances with the rawest parts of life. I felt inspired and reminded of why we’re here: to explore, to trust, to feel, and to walk through it all alongside one another. The return home is a return to self.

Watching it lit up something inside me. I’ve longed for a story that embraces both the complexity and simultaneous simplicity of being human. A film that made me tear up and smile and left me feeling a deep reverence for the full spectrum of life.

- Brit Hokulani Penaroza, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi