MACC’s Heritage Film Festival Screening The Haumāna

By Maui Now Staff

Written and directed by Keo Woolford, The Haumāna was produced in Hawaii and the entire cast was either born and raised or living here.

The film screens this Sunday, Jan 26 in the MACC’s Castle Theater.

The plot centers around Jonny Kealoha, the washed-up, alcoholic host of a struggling Waikiki Polynesian lū`au show.

To everyone’s surprise, including his own, he is summoned by the ailing Auntie Margaret, his long-revered kumu, who informs him that she wants him to be the new instructor to a group of male students.

Jonny doubts his own ability, remembering very little from his days as a student.

Thus, he becomes as much a student as a teacher when, through instructing them, he reconnects with the culture he had previously abandoned.

The Haumāna received the Audience Award for Narrative and a Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature at the 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

The film airs at 3 p.m. and tickets are $10.