In March 2008, a new volcanic vent opened within Halema‘uma‘u, a crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on the Island of Hawaiʻi. This new vent is one of two ongoing eruptions on the volcano. The other is on Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone, where vents have been erupting nearly nonstop since 1983.
Waikiki is a place unique in Hawaii's history. Over the years, it has transformed from a gathering place for Hawaiian royalty into a gathering place for millions of people from around the globe.
HAWAIIANA examines the enduring legacy of Winona “Aunty Nona” Beamer, a venerated educator, storyteller, composer and hula expert who dedicated her life to preserving and celebrating traditional Hawaiian culture. In her 20s, Aunty Nona formed a Hawaiian dance troupe that toured the U.S., eventually performing at Carnegie Hall and bringing the ancient art of hula to the wider public. Later, as a teacher at the Kamehameha Schools, she became a pivotal force in bringing Hawaiian culture back into the classroom. She coined the now well-known term “Hawaiiana” to represent a curriculum that included the best of Hawaiian culture, history and knowledge. Weaving together archival music and dance performances with past interviews and footage of Aunty Nona and her sons Keola and Kapona Beamer, HAWAIIANA offers a profile of a pioneering woman whose wisdom and life story continue to spread the message of aloha around the world.
Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano has been spewing fire and molten rock non-stop for the last 30 years. It draws attention from all over the world, from scientists to artists to curious tourists.
The conflict on Mauna Kea is about to enter it’s fourth week with no end in sight. This special Hawaii News Now mini-documentary takes a look at how the protest has evolved, where people on both sides of the issue stand, and what the state’s response to the conflict has been.
This film portrays Hawaii as a multifaceted American territory, far more than just a tourist destination with picturesque beaches and palm trees. It describes Hawaii as a group of volcanic islands in the Pacific, serving as a crucial crossroads for shipping and air travel between North America, Asia, and Australia. The film highlights Hawaii's fertile soil, conducive to agriculture, with major crops being sugar cane and pineapples, cultivated historically by a significant Asian workforce. Cities like Honolulu are presented as modern, diverse urban centers blending various cultures, including the native Hawaiian heritage. The film also notes Hawaii's strategic importance, with historical sites like Pearl Harbor, emphasizing its unique combination of cultural richness, economic vitality, and historical significance.
This film is a moving journey into the beauty and meaning of Hawaiian slack key music. Award-winning director Eddie Kamae"s rare combination of master musician and cinematic storyteller is the key to showing how Hawaii"s cultural traditions and the ki ho"alu guitar intertwine - and opening the door to a greater love of that music. Candid interviews and archival images combine with the music of many virtuoso performers, from legendary Fred Punahou and Gabby Pahinui to Raymond Kane and today"s Ledward Kaapana, to tell the slack key story from the 1830s to the present. It shows how this music perpetuates family tradition as songs, techniques and special string tunings are passed from one generation to the next.
Snails in Hawaii are disappearing faster than any animal on the planet. “This is happening so fast, it’s as if something really catastrophic is happening in the world right now," says scientist Dave Sischo, who is fighting to save Hawaii's snail populations.
An animated short film about a pineapple playing a guitar.
Mauna Loa in Hawaii is the largest active volcano on the planet. Its colossal mass could cause unsuspected dangers : its unstable flanks could collapse into the ocean and cause a mega-tsunami.
"The Ninth Island" tells the story of Hawaii’s indigenous population and its struggles to stay connected to its ancestral home.
Hawai'i is a horrible place to live. Anger permeates the landscape like a sea of lava beneath the surface. There are those who are fighting for Hawai'i's health, but for now, it seems that the aloha state is on its deathbed.
Taro grower and Native Hawaiian practitioner Jerry Konanui works to propagate and save from extinction the numerous varieties of kalo (taro), a staple of the Hawaiian diet. Jerry’s mission is also to protect kalo, revered as the elder sibling (Haloa) of the Hawaiian people, from the risks of genetic engineering.
Many factors are contributing to the decline in Hawaii’s forest bird populations, loss of habitat, climate change.. invasive species, but none more than disease. Avian Malaria and avian Poxvirus are spread by human introduced Mosquitoes. Historically, mosquitoes did not exist on Hawaii and native bird species never developed resistance to mosquito transmitted diseases. Because of this, mosquitoes have devastated many native bird populations.
Under a Jarvis Moon is a 2010 documentary film about the young men, mostly of Hawaiian origin, sent in the 1930s and 1940s to colonize the Line Island of Jarvis and the Phoenix Islands of Howland and Baker.
This film chronicles Waikiki's history from Polynesian mythology to the present day where it is one of the world's leading urban resorts.
A short film about the love story between Charles Reed Bishop and Princess Pauahi (founders of Kamehameha Schools). This is based on a true story with some liberties taken by Elena.
A mother and daughter, estranged by divorce and mental health issues, reconnect through patience, understanding, and their a shared appreciation of their Native Hawaiian heritage.
Witness the unique marine life at the depths of the Pacific Ocean, and journey to shores of the archipelago in this one-hour documentary, which reveals a new facet of this tropical location.