HULIAU is rooted in a distinctly Hawaiian tradition: respecting the “aina,” land, as an extension of oneself. The documentary takes a visually stimulating journey through painted illustrations, animation, underwater photography, and unique natural settings. A 10-year-old Hawaiian girl, recalling an old story told by her grandmother, leads the narration in the Hawaiian language. The story is interwoven with on-camera interviews from some of Hawai‘i’s leading cultural and environmental stewards. Famous Hawaiian “kumu hula” and the late world-renowned cultural performer Nona Beamer mentions, “Everything we do is for the good of the land: what we put into it is what we will get out of it.” These very passionate words are the heartbeat of HULIAU.  As a learning tool, this 35-minute film effectively presents Hawaii in such a way as to encourage people to truly discover the life around them, to get involved, and to take action!  

Director’s Statement

The concept for this film, HULIAU, was conceived after I read an out-of-print edition of 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save Hawai‘i. This book’s simplicity and effortless arrangement of facts surrounding environmental and economic development issues, such as the landfill and recycling concerns present in the islands during the 1980s, were relevant and were, in many cases, the same dilemmas or hurdles we face today. This awareness troubled me. How can the SAME issues that were problematic over two decades ago still be present today?

Of course, people have worked and even dedicated their lives to overcoming some of these issues, but the fact that individuals are STILL trying to figure out how to better deal with the island’s trash and waste, how to care for our environment, and how to best lay the lifelines of our future here and in the rest of the world brings us to this crisis point.  This disconnection between man and the land has been in existence for far too long!

Witnessing a blatant disregard for the betterment of our community is primarily why I was compelled to create HULIAU. I wanted to develop awareness through the medium of film that would tap into the impressionable minds of younger generations, while still being accessible to all peoples, business men and women, laborers, teachers, community leaders, and other artists. Compiling different mediums such as illustrations, archival films, digital and underwater photography, and animation engages the interest of all viewers.

Inside these various formats is an infrastructure of themes, associations, and polemics. The painted illustrations are but a memory’s impression of a changed and scarred landscape. The interviewees signify on the collective voices of indigenous and modern communities everywhere, and the animation represents the cultural diversity and change within Hawaii. Lastly, partnerships need to continue in order for all humans and “this land” to remain sustainable in a healthy manner. These factors represent the heartbeat of HULIAU as something more than a film, something that is personal and tangible. Like the name itself:  HULIAU demands action that makes us reflect while looking toward the future, toward a necessary time of change!

Director David DeLuca