i nā kiʻi ma mua,
nā kiʻi ma hope

program 5: departures &
program 6: huli

a screening series
curated by
kekahi wahi

Saturday December 2, 2023

6:30 – 9:30 pm, $15 Gen / $12 museum members / 18 and under FREE

Get your tickets

HoMA Doris Duke Theatre
900 S Beretania St., Honolulu, HI 96814

i nā ki‘i ma mua,
nā ki‘i ma hope

program 5: departures & program 6: huli

Filmmakers of Hawaiʻi, 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 kiʻi ma mua, nā kiʻi ma hope (2022–), 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 ʻōlelo no‘eau, Hawaiian proverb and poetical saying, “I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope.”

Commenting succinctly on this saying, Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, 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 kiʻi—images, likenesses, idols, petroglyphs—encourages unexpected connections to be made across media formats, practices, movements, and generations.

Joining together varied moving-image works from an intergenerational group of filmmakers and artists connected to Hawaiʻi and its stories, p5: departures & p6: huli embrace the regenerative potential of poetry and place. p5: departures dives into deep teachings—vocalized, visualized, and embodied—of beloved community leaders and cherished life sources. p6: huli turns freely from rural valleys to urban sidewalks to coastal ocean, passing through kahawai, digital vignettes, loʻi kalo, pen and ink drawings, a tourist industry, and coral reefs along the way.

Collaborators include Justyn Ah Chong, Nā Maka o ka ʻĀina (Joan Lander and Puhipau), DB Amorin, Haʻaheo Auwae-Dekker, Angelique Kalani Axelrode, Richard Hamasaki, Victoria Keith, Sancia Miala Shiba Nash, Alec Yasunori Singer, and kekahi wahi. A conversation between participating filmmakers in attendance will follow the programs.


About

i nā kiʻi ma mua, nā kiʻi ma hope (2022–) is curated by kekahi wahi, a grassroots film initiative instigated by filmmaker Sancia Miala Shiba Nash and artist Drew K. Broderick in 2020 to document transformation across Hawaiʻi. p5: departures and p6: huli of the ongoing series are presented by Aupuni Space in partnership with HoMA Doris Duke Theatre in Honolulu Town on the island of Oʻahu.

Doris Duke Theatre is Hawaiʻi’s largest independent arthouse theatre. Serving as one of HoMA’s gathering places, the theatre screens independent, documentary, and international films, and hosts lectures, performances, and concerts by local and visiting performers. Programming is dedicated to addressing relevant, impactful issues and to cultivating transformative experiences within our community. The theatre opened in 1977, named in honor of Doris Duke, a generous philanthropist and supporter of Islamic art and culture, jazz and other music and performing arts.