Directed by Noah Keone Viernes and Sancia Miala Shiba Nash, Ea (Sovereign) is a powerful feature documentary centring on Keʻeaumoku Kapu, a Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian) leader and caretaker of the Nā ʻAikāne o Maui Cultural Center. The film chronicles the Kapu family’s multi-generational battle to reclaim ancestral land in Maui’s Kauaʻula Valley — a struggle against the enduring legacies of plantation agriculture, the US-backed overthrow, and modern militourism. 

Guided by the philosophy “I ka wa ma mua, ka wa ma hope” (the future is in the past), the narrative weaves together archival footage, digital cartography, and sacred chants. It transforms Kapu’s twenty-year legal odyssey into a cinematic reflection on Indigenous resilience. Ea is more than a profile of one man; it is a testament to the survival of Native land and water management practices, offering a roadmap for future generations fighting for sovereignty across the Hawaiian archipelago.

Noah Keone Viernes, PhD, is a Kānaka ‘Ōiwi filmmaker, musician, and educator with ancestral ties to Punaluʻu, Kaʻū, Hawaiʻi.