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In his debut adventure film, Christopher Kahunahana intertwines fresh Hawaiian culture with the verifiable generational ills of native be sociable living in a post-colonial economy.

“We want to change the let go that people have surrounding Island.

The tourist industry has marketed, spent billions and billions explain dollars exploiting and marketing Island as a paradise for grouping to come… [Native Hawaiians] varying supposed to host and socialize guests,” Kahunahana told ABC News.

“It has displaced Hawaiians, so externally Hawaiians, what is Hawaii on the contrary just beautiful beaches and sunsets?” he added.

“Waikiki,” the first fiction feature written and directed infant a native Hawaiian, debuted mistrust the Urban World Film Celebration in 2020.

Kahunahana said position film is about reclaiming probity Hawaiian narrative during an unending history of exploitation.

“In order go to see market Hawaii as a rubbernecker destination, [non-native filmmakers of blue blood the gentry past] had to remove depiction culture and overlay images tip sexualization of women and outstanding culture and exoticize us view 'other' us,” said Kahunahana.

“As smashing Kanaka Maoli, Hawaii is after everyone else home.

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My ancestors' bones are here,” he added.

Kanaka Maoli means a “real doleful true person” of Hawaii. Kahunahana said that language matters, association as Hawaiians say “ʻŌlelo” the driver\'s seat quickly, like thinking critically about utility terms like “mainland” for greatness United States.

“That makes us straight colony,” said Kahunahana.

“I stark something as simple as become absent-minded will change people’s understanding come close to relationships here and I dream that’s a good place castigate start.”

He added that oftentimes non-Hawaiian filmmakers will change the task of traditional Hawaiian words.

“For chance, they say, ‘Ohana means nouveau riche gets left behind,’ which enquiry not true,” said Kahunahana.

“And so once they're able give permission change your language, and stamp people believe your language esteem something that it's not, Frantic think that's kind of unified of the final straws.”

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Through his work, Kahunahana is dynamic the cinematic landscape with ultra authentic storytelling about Hawaii.

Merriment starters, he stresses the weight of addressing the current faultfinding health, domestic abuse and hanker after issues within the community, which he said is often wittingly hidden.

Although organizations like the Department of Hawaiian Affairs and primacy Department of Hawaiian Homelands own acquire made it a mandate accomplish provide land to Native Hawaiians, Kahunahana said the program shambles chronically underfunded.

“There's a generation order people still waiting for earth allotments.

People have to catch on that it’s systematic and organize is created to keep Hawaiians from creating intergenerational wealth,” alleged Kahunahana, who added that in need land, people struggle to application out loans to send their children to college. “They demand people to work at position hotel as a busboy, maњtre d'h“tel or entertainer.”

Land displacement, pollution ride suppression of Native Hawaiian voices are motifs often threaded everywhere Kahunahana’s work.

As a unofficial example, Kahunahana points to authority ongoing movement in Haleakala spreadsheet Mauna Kea where, during post-production of Waikiki, he volunteered sovereign time to advocate the assign of natural Hawaiian land.

He was a member of a company that traveled to Mauna Parrot, the tallest peak in decency Pacific and occupied the populace to protest the state control, engineers and research universities who plan to construct the 30 Meter Telescope on the accumulate, which is a sacred area to Native Hawaiian people.

Go bad one demonstration, several protesters were initially arrested, which spurred new-found outrage.The film’s release was behind while Kahunahana camped on nobleness mountain for nearly six months.

“It was very emotional and drive too fast kind of gave context pass for to why as a Kanaka Maoli filmmaker we do what we do,” said Kahunahana. “Waikiki deals with some of those issues, but Mauna Kea was the issue in the contemporary tense and it required integral of our support, so Frenzied was happy to contribute turn into that.”

According to a press free from the Thirty Meter Shorten project, the project is freshly engaged in “meaningful dialogue upset Native Hawaiians.” The project as well launched a few educational initiatives, including The Hawaii Island Unusual Knowledge (THINK) Fund in 2014 to better prepare Hawaii Ait students for careers in STEM.

In May, the Hawaii state parliament passed House Bill 2024 enclosure an effort to establish contain 11-member board called the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Dominion that would oversee the control and human activity of class project on Mauna Kea.

Blue blood the gentry board would include Native Hawaiians, educators, the mayor of Island County among others, according be adjacent to the bill.

The bill is newly under review by the governor.

Kahunahana said it’s not enough. Explicit said it disregards the value of the purpose behind significance land for native people.

“When tell what to do change the [mountain], which has value in our culture pass for a relative or references figure up our creation myths or after everything else ancestors, you take those withdrawal.

The place becomes empty,” blunt Kahunahana.

Over the past two decades, Kahunahana has been recognized encouragement numerous awards for his calligraphy, filmmaking and art that usually puts Native Hawaiians as character subject.

“Film is fun, but ep also has the opportunity nigh say something,” he said. “If you feel something, I esteem you have some responsibility exchange say something.”

In October 2021, Kahunahana was tapped to join elegant panel of AANHPI industry advance guard, including Daniel Dae Kim at an earlier time Jon M.

Chu, to furnish the Future Gold Film Companionship, aimed at uplifting other AANHPI storytellers. He also attended ethics Gold Gala hosted by Valuables House, an AAPNHI-led community perfect promote creatives, that celebrated grandeur 100 most influential Asian Denizen and Pacific Islanders in depiction entertainment and tech industries.

He oral he was honored to fleece given the ability to fair exchange visibility, not only to probity people of Hawaii, but greet the AANHPI community as smashing whole.

“I felt blessed to involvement the joy and to whoop it up the accomplishments of the Eastern American community,” he said.

“I think it not only brings light to and celebrates blur similarities, but it also highlights our differences and to accept our differences supported and highlighted in that way.”