Kohne’s ‘Kuleana’ Wins Best of Fest Award

The film Kuleana, created by Maui writer/director Brian Kohne, was honored with a fourth top festival award taking home “Best of Fest” in the Guam International Film Festival on Oct. 1, 2017.

In June, the motion pictured was honored as “Audience Choice” in the Maui Film Festival, where it screened outdoors for a record 3,100 viewers.

Then in August, the mystery/drama earned another “Audience Choice Narrative Feature” award, followed in September with “Best Feature” in Oklahoma’s Tribal Film Festival.

In Kuleana, set on Maui in 1971, a disabled Vietnam vet rediscovers the Hawaiian warrior within to protect his family, defend their land and clear his father’s name.

“Kuleana” is the Hawaiian word for spiritual responsibility.

Kohne now sets sights on attending the Santa Cruz Film Festival screening on Friday, Oct. 13, in the Collegian Plaza Theater, part of the Tannery Center for the Performing Arts.

One of the stars, Kristina Anapau (True Blood) will also attend and both will take part in a post-screening Q&A.

The new mystery/drama produced by Stefan Schaefer also stars Moronai Kanekoa, Sonya
Balmores (Marvel’s Inhumans), Augie T, Marlene Sai, Branscombe Richmond (Chicago Med) and Mel Cabang.

Hawai‘i’s legendary Willie K provides an original score; the soundtrack boasts recordings by Joni Mitchell, Procol Harum, and Tony Orlando and Dawn, with classic Hawaiian hits of the 1960s by Genoa Keawe, Lena Machado, Sunday Manoa, Sons of Hawaii and Marlene Sai.

For more information, visit the film festival website.

The film will screen at Hawai‘i theaters in early 2018.

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