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Shaka Film partners with Hawaii Department of Education

The Maui News

HONOLULU–Producers of Hawai’i-made documentary, Shaka, A Story of Aloha, an exploration of the Shaka gesture, recently signed a deal to partner with the Hawai’i Department of Education (“HIDOE”) and the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement (“CLM”) to distribute the film throughout the HIDOE middle and high school system starting this November.

Shaka curriculum will take the form of short vignettes from the film paired with social emotional learning exercises.

The announcement comes on the heels of the film’s Hawai’i premiere at last week’s Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) where it played to sold out audiences and was nominated in the Best Hawai’i-Made Feature category. It also comes on the heels of Amazon Books publication of Shaka corporate “Add Aloha” and “Create With Aloha” leadership and design-thinking training systems.

Shaka HIDOE teacher training begins next month in Hilo 11/18, Maui 11/20, Kauai 11/21 and Oahu 11/23. All training sessions feature addresses by CLM founder Scarlett Lewis from New Jersey, and Shaka producer/writer Steve Sue. CLM is also exploring cascading distribution to their network of 20,000+ schools within the United States and 121 countries abroad.

Reflecting on the project, Sue said, “While the film explores 110-years of Hawai’i pop-culture history, the real payoff of the film is the discovery of how to connect, nurture, be of service, and be a good sport while achieving excellence, bring to life what ‘Right On,’ ‘Hang Loose’ and ‘Eddie Would Go’ are all about.”

Funded initially by Kamehameha Schools, Shaka, A Story of Aloha is produced by ID8, a Hawai’i-based nonprofit. The documentary features original music by renowned local artist Henry Kapono and is executive produced by Steve Sue and Bryan Spicer. Sue also serves as the writer and producer, while Hawaiian filmmaker Alex Bocchieri directs. The production team includes associate producers Sean Morris, Jill Kuramoto, Rebecca Teresia, Ryan Ozawa, Rob Webb, and Minette Lew-McCabe. Cultural advisors for the project include respected Hawaiian cultural experts Robert “Lono” Ikuwa, Manu Boyd, and Hailama Farden.

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