EXCLUSIVE: Actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim has come on board to executive produce Makawalu, a feature film initiated by Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), entirely created and to be co-directed by eight Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmakers.
The project, the largest budgeted indie feature entirely created by Kanaka Maoli talent, is fully funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Asian American Foundation (TAAF), and Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC). More than 90% of the project’s financing comes from organisations invested in change that are based outside Hawaii.
Currently in pre-production, the feature starts shooting in spring 2025 for an early 2026 release. The eight filmmakers are Justyn Ah Chong, Taylour Chang, Ty Sanga, Ciara Lacy, Āina Paikai, Erin Lau, Scott W. Kekama Amona and Katherine Wong.
First presented in 2021, the Makawalu project involved an extensive selection process after which the eight filmmakers participated in a five-day filmmaker lab and retreat in Honolulu with high-profile industry mentors.
Kim, known for his acting roles in Lost and Hawaii Five-0, is also a producer (The Good Doctor) and has been a Hawaii resident for almost two decades. He started working with the Makawalu filmmakers on the writers retreat in 2021, along with other mentors including Kerry Warkia (Waru), Amy Hill (Magnum PI) and Kiel McNaughton (The Legend Of Baron To’a).
“Makawalu represents an important step in recognizing Native Hawaiian filmmakers and the power of their stories. As someone who’s worked with this talented group firsthand, it’s been an honor to be able to amplify their voices and help this project come to life,” said Kim.
Post-retreat, the filmmakers continued to develop the script and production via monthly workshops and mentorship with industry figures including Sean Baker (Anora), Sara Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead) and Dana Ledoux Miller (co-writer and co-director of Disney’s upcoming Moana 2).
Other producers on the project include Sundance alum Sarah S. Kim (August At Akiko’s), and HIFF Artistic Director Anderson Le. John Cheng of 3AD Media will also executive produce.
Makawalu tells the story of a typical July 4th “luau” on the island of Oahu through eight different perspectives. The word Makawalu, in modern ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) terminology, references “different perspectives of a situation.”
“The filmmakers crafted a layered screenplay that will unpack many ongoing issues that modern Native Hawaiians face,” said HIFF Artistic Director Anderson Le. “From the exotification of Native Hawaiian culture in Hollywood media, to the repercussions of American colonization through capitalism and militarization of Hawai‘i, Makawalu explores what it means to be ‘Hawaiian’, being priced out of ‘paradise’, all on U.S. Independence Day.”
HIFF Executive Director and Makawalu executive producer, Beckie Stocchetti, said: “The intention of the Makawalu project is to provide an opportunity and access for these groundbreaking filmmakers to have full ownership over the telling of their story from their perspective. In order to make that happen we also needed to fundamentally change the traditional financing structure of independent film.”
With the production funded and ready to shoot in early 2025, HIFF will officially launch HIFF Studios, to support independent film productions in Hawaii, with a suite of support of financing, legal, and artist development programs to increase career opportunities and develop an industry pipeline for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander creatives.
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