LOOKING PAST PARADISE is a showcase that allows us the privilege of seeing how the filmmaking community in Hawai’i has leveraged increased accessibility from digital democratization. From the movement to protect Mauna Kea to a brief reunion between a formerly incarcerated father and his son, these films shatter the veneer of tourism and reveal the truths that affect the Nation of Hawai’i.
Co-presented by U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle and Hawaiian International Film Festival
Standing Above the Clouds is a story of inter-generational women activists, who call themselves Ku Kia'i Mauna, or guardians of the mountain. The film follows three sets of mothers and daughters indigenous to the Big Island of Hawaii, at the forefront of the movement to protect their sacred mountain, Mauna Kea, from an eighteen story, Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). Standing Above the Clouds explores the relationships between native Hawaiian mothers and daughters as they go from standing in ceremony, to standing on the mountain, and in the courtroom. (Content Warning: State Violence)
- Year2019
- Runtime15 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Hawaiian
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereSeattle Premiere
- DirectorJalena Keane-Lee
LOOKING PAST PARADISE is a showcase that allows us the privilege of seeing how the filmmaking community in Hawai’i has leveraged increased accessibility from digital democratization. From the movement to protect Mauna Kea to a brief reunion between a formerly incarcerated father and his son, these films shatter the veneer of tourism and reveal the truths that affect the Nation of Hawai’i.
Co-presented by U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle and Hawaiian International Film Festival
Standing Above the Clouds is a story of inter-generational women activists, who call themselves Ku Kia'i Mauna, or guardians of the mountain. The film follows three sets of mothers and daughters indigenous to the Big Island of Hawaii, at the forefront of the movement to protect their sacred mountain, Mauna Kea, from an eighteen story, Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). Standing Above the Clouds explores the relationships between native Hawaiian mothers and daughters as they go from standing in ceremony, to standing on the mountain, and in the courtroom. (Content Warning: State Violence)
- Year2019
- Runtime15 minutes
- LanguageEnglish, Hawaiian
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereSeattle Premiere
- DirectorJalena Keane-Lee