A new documentary, “Hometown Legends,” features five beloved kūpuna living on the Big Island. It captures their mastery of various Hawaiian traditions and skills, from pahu drum-making to the ranching life of a paniolo.
Kolby Moser, the co-director of the film, grew up in Kāʻu and owns Aria Studios, which specializes in wedding videos and commercials. The Conversation talked to Moser about why she decided to venture into documentary filmmaking.
On how long she's wanted to share stories from kūpuna on Hawaiʻi Island
KOLBY MOSER: Growing up in Hawaiʻi, we just grew up in a culture where we respect our kūpuna. I don't want the next generation to forget that. I want their kūpuna stories to be always around and always guiding them. I think growing up with my grandparents, I was always around kūpuna and that definitely shaped me. So I knew as a filmmaker that one day I would make a film that highlighted and elevated the voices of our kūpuna. I just didn't really know when. And I have been talking about this for the last 20 years. Anybody who's known me has heard me talk about this idea that I had to do a film about kūpuna from Hawaiʻi Island, which is my island — I grew up in Kāʻu. So the last year was the year that it just, it happened, all the stars aligned, and it was just the right time, but I have been thinking about it, it's been percolating for I'd say two decades.
Watch the trailer below or click here.
On the five kūpuna featured in the film: Robert Sonny Keakealani Jr., Manny Veincent, John Keoni Aweau Turalde, Willy Kaupiko and Shirley Kauhaihao
MOSER: We have two kūpuna from Waimea, that's where my family and I live now, that's the only home that my girls have known. So we have Uncle Sonny Keakealani. He's paniolo. He worked for Parker Ranch. He knows everything about cowboy, but more than that, he knows about fishing, he knows about ʻāina, he knows about language. So we do focus on his work as paniolo but even more than that, just like his knowledge about place and aloha ʻāina.
MOSER: We also profile Uncle Manny Veincent. He's also from Waimea. He started Kawaihae Canoe Club 50 years ago, just so well-known in the community. He was a fireman. He's also paniolo. These kūpuna, they know how to do all kinds of things. So we do have them talk about a specific craft or skill that they have. But they're just so wise in just how they live their life and about place. Uncle Manny spends most of his time on Maunakea. He's hiked probably every inch of Maunakea. He knows that place like the back of his hand. So he showed us artifacts. He's taken us to places that we've never been before — and we have part of that in the film.
MOSER: We also talked to Uncle Keoni Turalde. He's a pahu drum maker. He's actually from Oʻahu, but he moved to Hilo, Keaukaha when his kids were little, and he's made that his home. He had a diving accident, so he is in a wheelchair. But it's just amazing to see him do all the things that he does, even from a wheelchair. He's taking care of a huge plot of land that he uses for education. So he has keiki come and he teaches them about, again, aloha ʻāina and also about pahu drum making and carving.
MOSER: We also feature Uncle Willy Kaupiko. He's generations deep from Miloliʻi. So he talks about, you know, the way that his kūpuna fished and the way that he's preserving his place today. He's super inspirational because he's gone to Washington and he's really stood up for his place in a way that is so inspirational. He hopes that they use Miloliʻi as a model for other people to stand up for their places.
MOSER: And we also feature Aunty Shirley Kauhaihao. She's from Keālia which is South Kona and she comes from a whole ʻohana of fishermen, canoe, I mean hunters, all kinds of things her family did. But the thing that she got passed down was lauhala weaving. So she's a master lauhala weaver. She learned from her grandma. The way that she picks, the way that she weaves, is the exact same way that her grandma did. She even uses her grandma's tools.
On how the film contributes to the bigger picture of land stewardship and cultural preservation
MOSER: We didn't have a plan outside of just setting a really beautiful set for them to just talk and share whatever they wanted to share. And we didn't really cut them off. We just asked some general questions like, "Where did you grow up?" and "What was life like back in those days?" And they just talked and they shared. And so what came out of it was pretty magical. I couldn't have ever planned for what would come out. We had an idea, you know, the things that they did and kind of their life story, but it was just so much more than that. I thought we were gonna get, you know, specific things about lauhala weaving or pahu drum making, but just the themes were just a beautiful thing that came out of it. And I think the message that they shared was meant for this generation at this time.
This story aired on The Conversation on Nov. 16, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
