Hawaiian Heritage Film Festival continues Sunday at the MACC
KAHULUI - "Kaho'olawe Aloha 'Aina" will screen at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's McCoy Studio Theater as part of the MACC's Heritage Film Festival.
Three short films on the program chronicle Kaho'olawe Island and its historic struggles to stop bombing that grew out of World War II military exercises. The program also includes scenes from the life of activist George Jarrett Helm Jr. working to stop the bombing and inspire others to take up the cause, along with footage of Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana's 1982 campaign to stop RIMPAC.
Article Photos
“When the Mountain Calls: Nepal — Tibet — Bhutan”
The filmmakers will take part in a Q&A after the screening. Tickets are $10, plus applicable fees, available from the MACC box office, 242-7469 or mauiarts.org.
*****
Family-friendly 'Sweetwater' screens at Temple of Peace
HAIKU - Maui filmmaker Marci Winters will show her family film "Sweetwater" as a "benefit for keiki" from 5 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Temple of Peace, 575 Haiku Road.
The film is a dramedy about an 11-year-old tomboy struggling to grow up in the small Texas town of Sweetwater. According to a release, "Brady's grandfather's spirit comes to her when she's feeling down and overwhelmed by family responsibilities. When she shares this secret with her friends, some believe her and others question her honesty. The nonbelievers soon have a change of heart when something magical happens."
The film has aired on PBS several times and was an official selection in Los Angeles' Angelciti Film Festival. Winters is also the author of the children's book "Giraffe Juice." Donation is $5 for keiki, $8 for adults. For more information, visit www.sweetwaterfilm.com.
*****
Encore double bill: 'When the Mountain Calls', 'Taylor Camp'
KAHULUI - Back by popular demand after the November premiere of their film "When the Mountain Calls: Nepal -Tibet - Bhutan" in Castle Theater and across the state, filmmakers Tom Vendetti and Robert C. Stone will show the documentary in a double feature also featuring their "Taylor Camp: 1969 - 1977" at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the MACC's McCoy Studio Theater.
"While the films are very different documentary features, what they both have in common thematically is the search for the meaning of happiness," Vendetti and Stone said. "Together they complement each other, and we felt presenting the two films together would make a wonderful double- feature moviegoing experience."
"When the Mountain Calls" explores director-producer Vendetti's personal experiences and reflections from more than 30 years of traveling through the Himalayas, according to a release. It was "a journey discovering the meaning and sources of happiness in unexpected places, and the changes over the decades to the people, land, climate and culture," the release continues.
The script was written by Rick Chatenever of The Maui News, with music by Grammy Award-winner Paul Horn and Emmy Award-winner Christopher Hedge. Kris Kristofferson delivers the on-camera prologue and epilogue, and narration is by Ann Mortifee.
The film includes appearances by the Dalai Lama, Lama Tenzin, Paul Horn, Tenzing Norgay, Sir Edmund Hillary, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Dorjee Sherpa and Green Peace China.
"Taylor Camp," directed by Stone and produced by Kauai's John Wehrheim (who also will be attending the screening) tells of "a group of young people escaping campus riots, Vietnam War protests and police brutality on the Mainland who fled to Kauai in search of Utopia," the release continues. "Arrested as vagrants, they were bailed out by Howard Taylor (brother of Elizabeth Taylor) who gave them a place to live on his vacant pristine oceanfront land on the island's north shore But soon waves of change found their way to this clothing-optional, pot-friendly treehouse village."
Recalling those halcyon days, the film, laced with music of the era, also tells of the loss of innocence marked by a time and frame of mind now known as "the '60s."
The filmmakers will be available for questions before and after the screening. Tickets are $15, plus applicable fees, available from the MACC as above.
