Hui Moʻolelo: Lahaina Film Festival to be presented in Honolulu

The 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 present the Hui Moʻolelo: Lahaina Film Festival, co-hosted by the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Outreach College and Waiwai Collective from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, 2025, FREE in Mōʻiliʻili. The public is invited to engage with a new collection of animated film shorts that celebrate Lahaina history, culture and sense of place. 

The result of a summer 2024 call to artists, the films stem from the Hui Moʻolelo program which cultivates stories celebrating the history, culture and sense of place of unique sites throughout the County of Maui.

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, Maui, 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 Moʻolelo partners since September 2024, the artists’ animated film shorts will be presented in alignment with recorded talk-story excerpts about Lahaina. 

Key to the process of developing public artwork, each artist or artist team is required to workshop their proposals with community members. In February, Maui Public Art Corps was welcomed into the Movement Improvisation class taught by Associate Professor of Dance, Pei-Ling Kao, Department of Theatre and Dance at UH Mānoa to collaborate on a gesture drawing class with live performers.

The experience garnered the attention of UH Outreach College Chair of community programs, SheenRu Yong, who led the planning and development of the very first Hui Moʻolelo Film Festival on the island of Oʻahu. She says, “When I heard about how this project was bringing different artistic mediums, departments, generations and island communities together to celebrate the stories of Lahaina, I felt this was a vision and creative process that had to be shared widely. When Waiwai Collective generously offered to host the Festival, we knew it was meant to be.”

“Bringing our Hui Moʻolelo Film Festival to Oʻahu for the first time marks a significant step in expanding our commitment to preserving Hawaiʻi’s histories through public art,” said Kelly White, manager of the County of Maui Public Art Program and Chair of Maui Public Art Corps, ”Since 2018 we have cultivated this program within Maui County, and now, as we showcase films devoted to Lahaina, we also look ahead to ensuring that stories from kūpuna across the islands continue to guide us in shaping the future of public art.”

“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 3 individual artist iterations, including that of the UH Manoa student team, “It is so nice to be a part of a project like this, we are uplifted by your enthusiasm and your interest.”

The Hui Moʻolelo: Lahaina Film Festival will be emceed by Sissy Lake-Farm of Hale Hōʻikeʻike, beginning promptly at 6:30 p.m. and ending at 8:30 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 to 15 minutes in length, as well as a surprise performance and a Q&A with participants. 

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

Ka Waiwai Ma Mōʻiliʻili is located at 1110 University Avenue Suite 100, Honolulu, HI 96826. Click this Eventbrite link to RSVP. 

Note: There is currently an open call for artist proposals to transform these Lahaina stories into additional works of public art. Projects fall into one of five categories: pop-up performances, murals, utility box projects, recycling bin beautification, and open call. The deadline is March 31. Details are available at mauipublicart.org/apply.