Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1992 — To air on national TV June 12 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

To air on national TV June 12

Hawaiian film wins silver medal

"Legacy of Excellence," a film about| the revival of ancient Hawaiian art and craft traditions, has received a silver medal from the International Film & Television Festival of New York. Hawai'i filmmakers Elaine Zinn and Richard J. Tibbetts Jr. produced the film for Hawai'i Craftsmen and Hawai'i Public Television. Jimmy Kaina, eastern regional director for the Hawai'i Visitors Bureau, accepted the silver award in the Culture and Arts Division at the awards ceremonies. There were 3,057 entries from 29 countries competing. The film will be shown nationally on PBS in June. The program will be broadcast under a new title, "Hawaiian Legacy," on Friday June 12 at 10 p.m. "The film is the result of an extraordinary investment of research, materials and talent to yield the most accurate historical portrayals to date of traditional Hawaiian culture and its arts," said Tibbetts. "With the cooperation of Hawaiian scholars, native artists and the Bishop Museum, images of Hawaiian culture, religion and history that have never been seen before in a documentary film have been beautifully and authentically reproduced."

"Legacy of Excellence" centers around island artists who are reviving the native arts rarely practiced for over a century. Artists featured in the film are Roselle Bailey (kumu hula), Bruce Chrisman (designs ipu pawehe), Patrick Horimoto ('ie'ie twining), Dennis Kana'e Keawe (pahu carving), Rocky K. Jensen (woodcarver), Elizabeth Maluihi Lee (lauhala weaver), LeVan Keola Sequeira (woodcarver), and Puanani Van Dorpe (kapa maker). "With integrity and patience, these artists have dedicated years of scholarly research and hands-on experimentation toward their goal of remastering these pnce-revered art forms," stated Zinn. "They are the cultural pioneers of today." The film was supported by grants from the Hawai'i State Foundation on Culture ' and the Arts, the Hawai'i Committee for the Humanities, the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program - Bishop Museum, the Robert E. Black Memorial Fund, the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation, Bank of Hawai'i, the Gannett Foundation, the Hawai'i .Newspaper Agency and donations from other individuals.

Richard J. Tibbetts Jr. and Eiaine Zinn