Days before Native Hawaiian actor Moses Goods was preparing to shoot a local short film, the 2023 Maui wildfires ripped through Lahaina and other parts of the Valley Isle.
Goods, who grew up in Upcountry Maui, was glued to his TV. He said he cried as he saw many of the places he remembered destroyed.
“I was a mess,” he said.
Goods had just returned to Hawai‘i from New Zealand after shooting the new historical drama series “Chief of War.”
He was next scheduled to play a Maui chief in the 26-minute local short film “Kūkini,” a story about Maui warriors fighting to protect their home from the rampaging forces of King Kamehameha.
Filming began shortly after the wildfires that claimed more than 100 lives and left Lahaina and parts of the island in ruins.
Goods wasn’t sure if he was ready to film, but he said being surrounded by Native Hawaiian actors, filmmakers and crew members was the medicine he needed.
“That was precisely the right moment for me,” he said.
Kūkini were the chiefs' messengers, swift runners who gathered laborers to build projects, spied on rival chiefs and summoned warriors to battle.
The film takes place in 1790, when an elite warrior embarks on a mission to report on the bloody war waged by Kamehameha against Maui.
Goods has acted in “Hae Hawai‘i,” “Inhumans” and “Stones” and is no stranger to playing strong characters with a stern and powerful voice.
Around the time of the Maui wildfires, Goods said he tried to focus on his character as a Maui chief sending an athletic messenger to find out about the invasion.
“My focus is on channeling and honoring this ali‘i, but in doing so, telling a good story,” he said.
The film is based on a time period during which King Kamehameha sought to unite the warring islands under one nation through warfare.
“Kūkini” was screened in Lahaina this week — the first time the film has been showcased on Maui, although it has premiered on other islands.
Goods said he hopes the film can give the Maui community a sense of hope.
“It’s a beautiful, powerful piece,” he said. “A piece that’s made with the right intention. I know they're going to love it.”
