“Hometown Legends” is a documentary featuring five kupuna who talk about life back in the day. There will be a free screening of the documentary Saturday at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Courtesy photo

In conjunction with the Festivals of Aloha and Hawaiian History Month, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea will present a free screening of the documentary “Hometown Legends” on Saturday evening.

Directed by Kolby Moser and Nainoa Langer, the film focuses on five Hawaii Island kupuna as they share their moʻolelo (stories) about life in the past and how they see it changing in this modern age.

Following the screening, Moser and Langer will talk about their preservation work.

“We’re going to share some of our own thoughts of what went into the film,” said Langer.

“We got to be with the Maui community a few months ago at the Ritz,” said Moser. “We love Maui, so we’re really excited.”

The five kupuna featured in “Hometown Legends” are Willy Kaupiko, Keoni Turalde, Sonny Keakealani Jr., Manny Veincent and Shirley Kauhaihao. They represent paniolo (cowboys), lawai’a (fishermen), po’e ulana (lauhala weavers), pahu (drum) carvers and hoe wa’a (canoe paddling), and are leaders in cultural practices that were passed down from generations of their kupuna.

“It was always a passion, a dream project,” Moser explained. “One day when I get to make the film I really want to, it would be about kupuna. The kupuna that we interviewed, they’re not just farmers or fishermen or hunters. They have a very special kuleana to their place. They are so connected to their land and the ocean and their water. They have this understanding of the way life works and how everything is connected.”

A Native Hawaiian filmmaker, she founded the production company ARIA Studios in 2008 after working as a journalist for Hawaii News Now. In 2021, she was recognized by Pacific Business News as one of Hawaii’s “40 under 40.”

“The people that we interviewed, they just had such a strong message,” she said. “They’re in their 80s and 90s, and they talk about growing up during a much simpler time before cell phones and AI and lots of distractions. There are a lot of lessons there about a way to honor their stories the right way. These stories are of their family and of their place, and so now we are sort of the protectors of their stories, and we take that kuleana very seriously. As a mom and Native Hawaiian, it’s very satisfying to be able to tell these stories and capture them in the way that we do. Prior to this, we did a lot of commercial work and events.”

Born and raised on Molokai, Langer is an Emmy Award-winning director and cinematographer whose films include “Aloha Aina” and “Back to the Wild.”

“I’m more on the creative side of things,” he said. “We co-direct together, but Kolby is more of the hands-on technical producing side, and I take the lead on the creative, the directing, and a bit of the post production too.”

Moser and Langer are currently completing the new documentary “Hometown Legends Moloka’i,” with Mac Poepoe, Vivian “Vani” Ainoa, Bobby Alain, Mervin Dudoit and Walter Naki.

“We’re about two years into it now,” said Langer. “We’ve got the majority of the filming done, but we do need to go do some extra pickup shots. These kinds of projects have just a heaviness to them. We don’t just want to like quick, get it over with. We want to do it right. Molokai is special to me. It’s always been pretty heavy to me. Molokai being the way it is, we wanted to make sure it’s presented to the world in the right way, and not in an exploitative or extractive type of way. That’s always been at the forefront of my mind, being from there.”

The filmmakers are seeking funding to complete the new project. “We had federal funding, and that just got cut,” Moser said. “So we’re finding alternative funding options to be able to complete it because we’re still needing to go back and film a little more. But the main thing is that we recorded the interviews.”

Besides the “Legends” films, Moser has also been working on the “Eating Our Roots” series with Chef Ippy Aiona. An eight-part docuseries, it celebrates the ingredients that make up Hawaii’s food culture and the local farmers, growers and fishermen that steward them.

“We won an Emmy for season one, and this is season two,” said Moser. “It’s going to be premiering on Hawaii News Now on K5 starting Oct. 4. The gist of it is focusing on local food and how it’s good for you. It’s sort of a food anthropology show, so we take an ingredient found in Hawaii and then we talk about the history of the ingredient, where it came from, who were the first stewards of this ingredient, and where it is now, like the new people who are innovating and carrying the tradition forward. Then Chef Ippy Aiona cooks a dish with it in the kitchen. As soon as that wraps, then we’ll get back to ‘Hometown Legends.'”

“Hometown Legends” will screen at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Admission is free.