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Hosts Paul Booth and Kai Lovell will review the film WAIKIKI, premiered at The Urbanworld Film Festival sponsored by HBO.
THE FILM
Waikiki is written and directed by a Kanaka Māoli (Native Hawaiian).
“The Hawaiʻi of my childhood is a world far different than the glossy misrepresentation presented in Hollywood film. The repercussions of colonialism and Statehood have left people severed from ancestral land and culture. This has had a profound effect on Hawaiian psychology and self-image. Filmmaking has been my means to process these realities” said writer-director Kahunahana.
Leaving behind the touristic image of paradise and island culture, WAIKIKI tackles the often-unspeakable generational trauma of postcolonial cultures through a mixing of genre conventions, experimental storytelling, and perspectives.
When a Native Hawaiian hula dancer escaping her abusive boyfriend crashes her beat-up van into a mysterious homeless man, she finds herself flung into a surrealistic journey of self-exploration and enlightenment. Director Christopher Kahunahana’s eagerly awaited feature debut breaks down the enduring, stereotypical image of paradise we have of Waikiki to reveal a vulnerable and authentic portrait of indigeneity.
