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Opening on Aug. 29 and spread over five nights at the MACC's Castle Theater, the 2024 Maui Film Festival will showcase 13 documentaries and feature films and 27 short films.
Here's an overview of some highlights.
A jaw-dropping portrait of cave diving icon Jill Heinerth, "Diving Into The Darkness" (Sept. 1, 8 p.m.) explores the challenges she's faced where no man or woman has gone before. More people have been to the moon than the places Heinerth has explored.
A pioneer in diving, exploration and underwater filmmaking, Heinerth has been involved in legendary cave diving expeditions, from surveying the world's longest caves in Mexico to discovering giant iceberg caves in Antarctica.
"People often think that I must be fearless, but that could not be further from the truth," Heinerth told Canadian Geographic. "I am willing to embrace fear and step into the darkness in the service of scientific exploration and educational outreach. Observing the degradation of the planet, she reported, "In caves, I am able to swim through the veins of Mother Earth, in the essence of the planet and I can see that she is sick."
It won the Best Documentary Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
The doc's director Nays Baghai reported to InDEPTH, "To my knowledge, no other feature film director had ever led a CCR-only (Closed Circuit rebreathers) crew deep into underwater caves to direct such detailed dramatic scenes."
"The Shape of Things: The Dick Brewer Story" (Aug. 29, 6 p.m.) chronicles the man who revolutionized the art of surfboard shaping. "Dick Brewer is kind of the Leonardo da Vinci of surfboard design," said Jim Kempton, who helped with the screenplay, to Hawaii Public Radio's Catherine Cruz. "He changed the world of surfboards and shapes three different times in his lifetime."
Producer Tere Tico reported, "This is not just a surf film but a story of resilience and overcoming adversity against all odds. I hope it inspires audiences everywhere to keep the faith. Things will get better if we believe they will and if we do the work to make it happen."
It won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at the 15th Annual Honolulu Surf Film Festival.
Born in Minnesota and raised in California, Brewer eventually settled in Hawaii in 1960, where he opened a little shop in Haleiwa, and began using his engineering background for surfboard shaping.
Brewer died on Kauai in 2022. He was 85. In a Facebook post he wrote: "I am going to hang on to the words of Buddha: 'The secret to health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.' GO SURFING and get one for me!"
Narrated by legendary Icelandic artist Bjork, the extraordinary doc, "Fungi: Web of Life," (Aug. 30, 4 p.m.) will change the way we look at fungi and the world. Fungi made life possible on Earth, and virtually all trees and 90% of plants rely on fungus to survive. The vast underground networks of fungi that provide trees with nutrients, the "wood wide web," are dazzlingly visualized in the film.
It includes a tour of a lab in upstate New York that makes vegan leather out of mushrooms, and China, where researchers are working on a plastic-eating fungus that
could help tackle plastic pollution, and to Tasmania's ancient Tarkine forest where biologist Merlin Sheldrake searches for a precious blue mushroom.
"We are unthinkable without fungi, yet seldom do we think about them," said Sheldrake in The Guardian. "They are eating rock, making soil, digesting pollutants, nourishing and killing plants, surviving in space, inducing visions, producing food, making medicines, manipulating animal behavior, and influencing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere."
Directed by Robert Schwartzman, who will receive the "Lights! Camera! Passion! Award" at the festival, "The Good Half" (Sept. 2, 6 p.m.) is a moving story about grief, hope, and family tensions. Starring Nick Jonas, Matt Walsh, Brittany Snow, and Elisabeth Shue, it focuses on a 28-year-old aspiring comedy screenwriter who returns to his hometown of Cleveland. He struggles with grief over his mother's death, as well as tensions with his sister and his stepfather. Schwartzman told Metro Philadelphia about his film: "I think if movies can create a moment to think and reflect on people that you've lost or experiences you've had of grief, that's important because we need to be reminded of these things."
With narration by musician Michael Franti, "Giants Rising" ((Sept. 1, 4 p.m.) reveals the secrets and saga of America's most iconic trees. The tallest and some of the oldest living beings on Earth, redwoods are living links to the past. "You do not need to know the science to be just floored by these trees," said redwood geneticist Zane Moore of U.C. Davis. "But awe can be inspired even more if you learn a bit more about them."
Prized for the quality of their wood, some 95% of the primeval redwoods have been logged since the 1800s. The losses were dramatic, but so to have been the battles to protect these trees, then and now.
Featuring voices of wisdom including spiritual leader Sadhguru, addiction expert Dr. Gabor Maté, bestselling author Neale Donald Walsch, motivational speaker Yasmin Mogahed, and other luminaries, "The Kindness Within" (Sept. 2, 8 p.m.) engages viewers with a tapestry of cultures and ideas as steps to mental freedom.
"I hope this documentary can offer hope to those who need it most, inspiring them to forge their own path toward inner peace," said Leon Logothetis, known as the kindness guy. "Whether you're seeking inspiration, healing, or simply a deeper understanding of the world around you, there is so much to take away from this film."
The 2024 Maui Film Festival is presented at the MACC's Castle Theater, opening on Aug. 29. Films start at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. each night. Single film tickets are $24 and $86 for a four film pass, (plus applicable fees), available at mauiarts.org.