ke aloha
This project has been on my heart for a couple of years now. It is essentially the intersection of my love for the Hawaiian people and my obsession with telling under-told stories.
When I was about 11, I signed up for hula lessons at my local community park, and I immediately fell in love with it. Years later as an early teen, my rebellion took the form of pushing things out of my life that I viewed as part of my childhood. Hula was one of those. But only a couple of hours after I decided to quit, I began to regret it. Once hula comes into your life, it never leaves, and a few short years later, I found myself back in the Halau—the studio where we practice—where I danced until I left for college.
So here I find myself, on the 10 year anniversary of the introduction of hula into my life, with the opportunity to allow this great love of mine to once again play a major role in my life. This film is a testament of love to what has been a part of my life for so long and seen me through the highs and the lows. Some people write books, some music. For me, I make films. This is my way of giving to others what I have been so blessed with.