Washington DC - Haku Inoa Screening

I know the Smithsonian screening at the National Museum of the Native American was a while ago now, but truthfully I moved and I misplaced the disk with the pictures from the Q&A. I was being stubborn and I did not want to put up this post without the picture. So now that I have found it, here we go! The screening was really great. I thought that the programming was intelligently crafted by Melissa Bisagni she paired Haku Inoa with Heart of the Sea which is the documentary bio-pic about surf legend Rell Sunn. My film lead really wonderfully into Heart of the Sea because that film begins with the explanation of Rell's Hawaiian name which is Kapolikaehukai which essentially translates to Heart of the Sea. The beginning of the film shows very briefly shows how important a name is to Hawaiians. In some sense the rest of the film is really an illustration of all the different ways that Rell fulfills the meaning of her name.

As a part of screening at the Smithsonian I was able to have a personal tour with a cultural interpreter, she was basically a guide to the museum. My guide was named Zandra it was really fun to get to know her and check out the museum. She knew so much about all aspects of the museum. Including the architecture, which was really interesting to me because my father is an architect

Overall I really enjoyed DC and the museum. I can't wait to go back again.

New York Smithsonian Screening - Haku Inoa

Sorry for the late update here on the East Coast Smithsonian Screenings. Both of the screenings were really fantastic for two main reasons. Number one to have my first museum screenings at two different Smithsonian museums is an amazing privilege. Secondly, it is inspiring to see the work of other Pacific Islander Filmmakers and learn about other indigenous cultures from all around the world.

First a short update on New York. Shortly I will get up an entry about DC, because the DC screening and trip was really amazing and deserves its own post!!!



The team from the Film and Video Center in New York were lovely. I was happy to be able to attend the artist reception on Wednesday before the Pasifika Showcase began. I had a chance to speak with Nancy Brunning who is in a wonderful Maori film called The Strength of Water. You can see the trailer here. Unfortunately, to be honest, the trailer doesn't do the film justice.

The Strength of Water is paced like a comforting drift of a lazy river. However, this underlying ease is upset by the trauma of the sudden accidental death of a young Maori girl named Melody. The entire village mourns her loss bitterly, but none more so than her twin brother Kimi. The film explores grief through magical realism brought to life through the love and loss of a young child.

Haku Inoa screened on a Saturday afternoon with a collection of other short films. A few hula sisters from New York and film school friends came by, and the Q&A after the films was fairly lively. There were maybe 50 or so folks at the screening, but that is not too surprising since it was a sunny Saturday afternoon in New York.

Seattle Fundraising Screening Tickets

A name is a name... unless its 63 letters long.

Central Cinema
1411 21st Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
July 15th, 2009
6pm - 8:30pm
www.central-cinema.com

Haku Inoa: To Weave a Name is the deeply personal story of filmmaker Christen Marquez’s journey to heal her family relationships, which have been devastated by her Mother’s mental illness. Driven by the desire to to learn the meaning of her enigmatic Hawaiian name. Christen attempts to unite her scattered family and come to terms with her estranged mother, because her mother is the only one who knows the true meaning. However, learning her name proves to be more difficult then Christen first realizes. The film brings up deeper questions about surviving in a family with mental illness, and the modern cultural identities of “on-island” and “off-island” Native Hawaiians also called Kanaka Maoli.

I will be screening some very old work of mine, and the very newest. I will also be dancing hula there too, so that should be cool.

BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/69035

If you cannot make it to the screening you can still donate to the project here by clicking on the yellow donate button: http://www.paradocsproductions.com/haku_inoa_donate.html