Inaugural Wailuku Film Festival draws thousands, organizers say

The first Wailuku Film Festival drew more than 5,300 attendees over five days in June, according to festival organizers, who said the event turned historic Wailuku into a hub for filmmakers, students and industry professionals from Hawaiʻi and beyond.

The festival ran June 17-21. Maui County supported the Maui Film Office initiative, which Pacific Media Group and Hampton Inn Maui North Shore presented.

More than 4,000 people attended over the first four days, with another 1,300 attending the Best of Fest closing event at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, organizers said. The festival screened more than 100 films, including more than 55 made in Hawaiʻi and 30 student productions, with filmmakers representing 15 countries and Indigenous nations, organizers said. Several screenings at the historic ʻĪao Theater sold out.

Festival programming generated more than 12.5 million media impressions across press and social media, according to organizers, extending coverage of Maui to audiences across Hawaiʻi, the continental United States and internationally. Businesses in Wailuku town reported increased activity and sales during the festival, organizers said.

Throughout the week, audiences moved between theaters, filmmaker discussions, coffee shops, restaurants, galleries and boutiques in Wailuku. The festival was designed to give Hawaiʻi filmmakers a platform alongside internationally known artists, showcase Indigenous stories and give emerging filmmakers in Hawaiʻi a path into the film industry, organizers said.

The festival’s Indigenous Voices Program featured Native Hawaiian, Māori and other indigenous filmmakers whose work addressed culture, language, genealogy, environmental stewardship and resilience.

A Watersports Program included surf documentaries and ocean-focused films. It featured the Maui premiere of “SURFILMUSIC,” which included musician Jack Johnson along with surfers and filmmakers. The festival also hosted Maui-raised filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, who mentored emerging Hawaiʻi storytellers ahead of the July 31 global release of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

The festival partnered with several organizations to involve students, including Pacific Media Group, Akakū Maui Community Media, Hisako Film Lab, Maui Huliau Foundation, Mid-Pacific Institute, the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Academy for Creative Media and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Cinematic Arts. Students screened their work alongside established filmmakers.

Ethan Chang, a Hawaiʻi filmmaker and student at Loyola Marymount University, presented his film “Nā Kāne ʻElima” at the festival. “Seeing the Maui community embrace a perspective of hula that is rarely shown in mainstream media reinforced the growing support for Hawaiʻi filmmakers telling our own stories from the inside out,” Chang said.

Mayor Richard Bissen said the festival gave local filmmakers, many of whom have had to leave Hawaiʻi to build their careers, a chance to be recognized in their home communities. “By creating a place where local filmmakers can share their work alongside internationally acclaimed artists, mentor the next generation, and receive the recognition they deserve at home, we’re investing not only in our creative economy, but our people,” Bissen said. “That’s something our entire community can be proud of.”

Festival Director Brian Kohne said the event’s first year affirmed the value of storytelling for the community. “We saw a community come together,” Kohne said. “Students discovered new possibilities, filmmakers found one another, indigenous voices were celebrated, the ocean found its place on the big screen and Maui shared its stories with the world.”

Planning is underway for the 2027 festival, with expanded opportunities for Hawaiʻi filmmakers, indigenous storytellers, watersports filmmakers, students, educators and community partners.