Maui Public Art Corps presents ‘Hui Moʻolelo: Lahaina’ Film Festival, Feb. 22-23

Maui Public Art Corps in collaboration with the County of Maui, Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House / Maui Historical Society and Lahaina Restoration Foundation will host its fourth Hui Mo‘olelo Film Festival from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 22 and 23, 2025, FREE at ProArts Playhouse in Kīhei. The public is invited to this premiere of a new collection of animated film shorts that celebrate Lahaina history, culture and sense of place.

The result of the collective’s summer 2024 call to artists, the films stem from the developing Hui Mo’olelo program. Through previous cohort participants Kalapana Kollars of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation and Anuhea Yagi, Student of Hawaiian Life Ways, a cohort of storytellers were prepared, then paired with intergenerational partners to audio-record memories rooted in Lahaina. The recordings formed the basis of a call for artist proposals to translate a story as a work of public art. More than 100 public artworks have been created to date, including murals, mele, dance, sculpture, animation, lightwork, and more.

Upon selection by a community panel, artists Sasha Hercik​​ of Kīhei, Richard O’Connor of Brooklyn, NY and a team of University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, School of Cinematic Arts students — Jenna Lee, Syril Pecson, Zach Quemado, and Abby Worthley, entered a period of project development to meet the storytellers, learn more about the context of their stories, and infuse the evolving design with a sense of place distinct to each recording. Working closely with Hui Mo‘olelo partners since September 2024, the artists’ animated film shorts will be presented in alignment with recorded talk-story excerpts about Lahaina.

Story participants include: Jennifer Freeland and her father Haines Burt Freeland; Louis Garcia III and Kaliko Storer; Teva Medeiros and his grandfather Timothy Medeiros Sr.; ​Coach Earle Kukahiko and Kaliko Storer; Abraham “Snake” Ah Hee and Myrna Ah Hee; Reverend Gensho Hara of Lahaina Jodo Mission and his daughter, Yayoi Hara; Sally Ann Delos Reyes and Lopaka White; and Theo Morrison, Executive Director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

“The Hui Mo‘olelo program has been so nourishing,” said Yagi, “I think one of the great gifts from was the opportunity to just have a space to connect with others and be free in sharing. Seeing each person’s unique qualities and how they were able to express themself as themselves and then relate to others in a way that created new connections – it was really astounding to see and liberating.”

“Thank you for selecting our interview,” said Yayoi Hara, whose talk-story with her father Reverend Gensho Hara of the Lahaina Jodo Mission will be animated in three individual artist iterations, “It is so nice to be a part of a project like this, we are uplifted by your enthusiasm and your interest.”

The 2025 Hui Mo’olelo Film Festival will be emceed by Sissy Lake-Farm of Hale Hōʻikeʻike, beginning promptly at 3 p.m. and ending at 5 p.m. Free to the public, audience members will experience the premiere of five animated films created from Lahaina talk-story excerpts, each between 3-15 minutes in length, as well as a surprise performance from a previous Hui Moʻolelo project and a Q&A with the storytellers. Arrive early to ensure a seat at the theater, which is limited to the first 120 attendees.

To view the artwork research, listen to the story recordings, and more, visit mauipublicart.org/filmfest which links to all individual project pages.