We are living in a tumultuous, political era. Institutions are being challenged in the film industry, as politics and art are resonant more than ever in an American reckoning from a gamut of causes–Police brutality and #blacklivesmatter; an attack against immigration and the scapegoating of the Other; First Peoples issues and rights being challenged right here in Hawai’i spearheaded by the Mauna Kea movement; and the disparity of wealth and class becoming more apparent via the COVID-19 pandemic, decimating all industries, especially the film and tv industry. In this panel we explore the current movement of Kānaka Maoli filmmakers who are fighting the good fight in telling their own stories in an ever-changing media landscape. Artistic practice, maintaining authenticity in the filmmaker’s perspective, and what protocols to follow in this “new normal” during a global pandemic will be hot button issues discussed in a time of massive structural change as we try to answer the question, “where do we go from here?” Hosted by HIFF Artistic Director, Anderson Le

PANELISTS: Donne Dawson (Hawai‘i State Film Commissioner), Justyn Ah Chong (DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK IN WAIKIKI), Leanne Ferrer (Pacific Islanders in Communications), Chris Kahunahana (WAIKIKI THE MOVIE), Ciara Lacy (OUT OF STATE, HIFF37 Made In Hawai‘i Grand Prize), Erin Lau (THE MOON AND THE NIGHT, HIFF38), Mynette Louie AB '97 (Producer of I CARRY YOU WITH ME, SWALLOW, NANCY, THE TALE), ʻĀina Paikai (HAWAIIAN SOUL), Ty Sanga (HAE HAWAI‘I, STONES)

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