i nā kiʻi ma mua,
nā kiʻi ma hope

program 3: arrivals &
program 4: lipo

a screening series
curated by
kekahi wahi

July 21, 2023 
6:30pm FREE

1128 Fort Street Mall

kekahi wahi, Afterimage, 2020, video still. Courtesy of the artist 

i nā ki‘i ma mua
nā ki‘i ma hope

program 3: arrivals & program 4: lipo

Filmmakers of Hawai‘i, those living and working across the archipelago and participating from abroad, often express frustration with mainstream commercial cinema’s treatment of the islands... How many more Hollywood features and American subscription streaming services can our home endure?

i nā ki‘i ma mua, nā ki‘i ma hope, is an open- ended screening series featuring moving image works that are of, about, and/or related to the Hawaiian archipelago and Moananui, the greater Pacific. In acknowledgement of the ways in which filmmakers and artists of Oceania, as elsewhere, are guided simultaneously by their pasts and futures, the title of the series expands on the oft quoted ‘ōlelo no‘eau (Hawaiian proverb and poetical saying), “I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope.”

Commenting succinctly on this saying, Lilikalā Kame‘eleihiwa, esteemed Native Hawaiian educator and community leader, writes in Native Land and Foreign Desires: Pehea Lā E Pono Ai? (1992): “the Hawaiian stands firmly in the present, with [their] back to the future, and [their] eyes fixed upon the past, seeking historical answers for present-day dilemmas.” Shifting the focus from ka wā–epoch, era, time, space–to nā ki‘i–images, likenesses, idols, petroglyphs–encourages unexpected connections to be made across media formats, practices, movements, and generations.

Much like a lei or garland, p3: arrivals and p4: lipo string together vibrant moving image works from an intergenerational group of artists and filmmakers who offer glimpses into ongoing archipelagic realities. p3: arrivals flickers and flashes between touristic fantasies, militaristic specters, and longstanding Native rights movements for self-determination. p4: lipo takes refuge in songs of sovereignty and freedom from the 1980s alongside more recent desires for environmental remediation and queer tropical futures. A conversation between participating filmmakers in attendance will follow each program.

Collaborators include Nā Maka o ka ‘Āina (Joan Lander and Puhipau), Ha‘aheo Auwae-Dekker, Vincent Bercasio with Madelyn Biven & Bradley Capello, Sean Connelly, Léuli Eshrāghi, KEANAHALA, Tiare Ribeaux, Dan Taulapapa McMullin, e-nico, Jakob Soto, Noah Keone Viernes, kekahi wahi, and Christopher Makoto Yogi.

Programs 3 & 4 notes

Nā Maka o ka ʻĀina, Pacific Sound Waves, 1986, video still. Courtesy of the artist