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Gems from the ‘jewel box’

Maui Film Festival shines diamond bright, reflects humanity’s guiding light

By Mona DeCrinis 6 min read

The "jewel-box festival" -- that's how IndieWire described the upcoming Maui Film Festival several years ago, and festival Founder and Director Barry Rivers eagerly embraced the moniker as a roadmap of sorts for his visionary journey.

"For me, it means, we've never aspired to be the biggest festival," he explains "We've just aspired to be the one that stands alone for its energetics and quality of programming.

"Many film festivals are like these steeple chases where you leave feeling exhausted in a way you didn't feel when you got there," he continues. "We want to be a festival that creates its own mana, its own juju in the world. And I think we've accomplished that over the last 20 years."

Using Maui as the stage to mount an ambitious festival with a mission to rejuvenate, refresh and renew attendees, Rivers' ultimate goal is that festival goers leave feeling lighter, better, more well-rested and ready for whatever life may throw at them.

"And maybe," Rivers adds wryly, "crack your coconut up a little bit by seeing some of the films we think are important, and have you take that with you into the work that you do."

For Rivers, two ideals have endured as MFF's overall mission: A commitment to the presentation of compassionate vision and life-affirming storytelling.

"In our selections, there are no car crashes, no women in peril, no super weird stuff," he describes. "Is that stuff out there in the world? Absolutely. But for five days, we want to turn people's heads in another direction and have them see a world that might be, and is, and not necessarily the world that is predominantly the world one thinks they live in if they watch too much TV or spend too much time on the internet.

"There's beauty and wonder and miracles out there, and that's what we try to highlight, with all these different films."

As a testament to the manifestation of the fest's positive vibe, Rivers doesn't refer to MFF awardees as 'celebrities.'

"We refer to them as luminaries," he reveals, "meaning they often emit more light with the work they do than just because they're a good-looking guy or gal in Hollywood."

Rivers, who created a multi-media dissertation featuring ethnic chants and concepts from Ram Dass' groundbreaking work "Be Here Now" for his doctorate (long before the advent of computers made organizing and presenting such an ambitious project easier), has always been on the forefront of promoting enlightenment and compassionate living.

"I felt it coming," he recalls. "I've always been sensitive to this stuff, taking photos as a kid since I was about four or five."

A filmmaker and television producer and director in his own right, Rivers admits he's driven by an ethical responsibility when it comes to what he creates.

"I have really strong feelings about what people see and how that, in turn, reverberates into the people they become and what the culture at large, locally, nationally and globally, becomes," he says. "My kids thank me to this day (and they're now in their 40s) for not letting them see all the things that their friends were watching at the time. They've never had a nightmare, and that's a pretty rare thing for a kid to say who's growing up these days with all this horrific imagery."

For Rivers, the barrage of violent images in movies and on TV and the internet contributes to this sense of disassociation within our culture.

"I think a lot of that comes from a really frenetic media environment," he surmises. "I want this festival to be an extension of the visual sense and understanding that the images people internalize, in a large part, determine who they become."

The fire in his belly is fueled by the consuming desire to "show people something different than what passes for entertainment in today's world."

"There are definitely pockets of light out there, and we want to continue to grow that."

Naturally, Rivers is immensely pleased with and proud of all the selections at this year's fest, but he does call out a few films that he believes are truly extraordinary.

Among them are "The Bottom of the 9th," starring 2019 Shooting Star Award recipient Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara, both of whom will be in attendance at the film's Friday night Celestial Cinema screening in Wailea.

Rivers also raves about the time-lapse cinematographical wonder, "Fantastic Fungi,' by Louie Schwartzberg, the festival's 2019 Visionary Award recipient.

"Then there's 'Wild Rose,' a film that's been tearing up the festival circuit," he continues. "We're thrilled to have that screening here."

Rivers also cites "The Farewell" as a must see -- especially for those living in Hawaii.

"It was a huge hit at Sundance," he says. "It's a universal story about culture that will definitely speak to people here."

One film water babies shouldn't miss, says Rivers, is "This Excellent Life" by videographer and cinematographer Mike Waltze, who was also a world-class waterman.

"It's almost like Forrest Gump being at the nexus of all these historical mileposts in ocean sports," Rivers notes with a chuckle. "He knows everyone who's anyone in this realm, and the film is a look at 40 years of the evolution of extreme ocean sports in the world, but particularly on Maui -- because all the cutting-edge stuff was developed here."

Rivers suggests the documentary "Echo in the Canyon," for music lovers and anyone interested in how the Southern California rock sound came to fruition. And if opera is more to your liking, "Pavarotti" by director Ron Howard is right in your 'aria.'

" 'Gay Chorus Deep South' is also a must," Rivers continues. "The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus brings their music and energy to places in the South cloaked in fear and darkness when it comes to LGBTQ people -- or anyone different from themselves."

All of the films in this year's festival catch and emit the light of humanity in one way or another with the passion of a fire opal, the luster of a string of pearls and the richness of rubies.

IndieWire definitely got it right.

* Mona de Crinis can be reached at mdecrinis@mauinews.com.

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