Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2007 — Maui Memories [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maui Memories

īhe latest film from Hawaiian music legend and new National Heritage Fellow Eddie Kamae captures Lahaina amid a time of change

By Liza Simnn Public Affairs Specialist Amonth after marking his 80th birthday in August, Hawaiian music leg-

end and noted filmmaker Eddie Kamae got quite a gift: a 2007 Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest nationwide honor given for achievement in "traditional and folk artistry." With the fellowship eame a $20,000 award and an offieial ceremony on Capitol Hill, plus the opportunity for Kamae

and his masterful band Sons of Hawai'i to perform at a gala celebration for this year's elite group of 12 fellowship winners representing traditions ranging from Appalaehian to African-

American. Kamae traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive the award, but he was back home in the islands even before the leis he received from the Hawai'i congressional delegation had time to wilt - just one indication of the fact that, even in his 8th decade, he is as productive as ever. Iust take a look at his October calendar: his ninth and newest documentary - eight years in the making - is set to premier this month as part of the Hawai'i International Film Festival. Lahaina: Waves

of Change is about the shutdown of Lahaina's Pioneer Sugar Mill. In typical Kamae style, this era-ending event is portrayed soulfully through the stories told by kūpuna. They

evoke many experiences that signal irretrievable loss: the last mill harvest, the last eane burning and, of course, the irrefutable takeover of Hawaiian land by an industry that eventually failed. But Kamae, whose own family roots in Lahaina include a grandmother he often visited as a child, says that in spite of bad impacts, the dignity and strength of the retirees shines through: "So many of the mill workers raised good families, See KAMAE on page 22

Lahaina: Waves of Change The Hawaii International Film Festival is screening two premiere showings of Eddie Kamae's latest film, with accompanying Sons of Hawai'i concerts: Where: Maui Arts & Cultural Center When: Wednesday, Oetober 19 Time: 7:30 p.m. Where: Waikīkī Sunset on the Beaeh When: Friday, Oetober 21 Time: 7 p.m. For more information eall 528-3456 or visit, www.hiff.org.

KI'I'ONI'ONI • FILM

At the presentation of his Nahonal Heritage Fellowship Award, Kamae is flanked by Hawai'i congressional Reps. Mazie Hirono and Neil Abercrombie, wifh Nahonal Endowmenf for fhe Arts Chairman Dana Gioia at left. - Photo: īom Pieh

KAMAE

Cūntinued fram page IG went fishing, practiced their eulture. They are feisty and full of laughter. They have loved their lives." As mueh as Kamae's music and film work embraces Hawaiian

tradition, he wants young audiences to tune in to his work for its modern relevance. Through his art, he wants to be a mentor, mueh like those who influenced him. For example, there was the great Hawaiian musician and composer Sam Li'a, whom Kamae credits for inspiring him to piek up a camera for the first

time back in the 1970s. After Li'a passed away, Kamae says he wanted to "pass on Li'a's understanding of the poetry of Hawaiian music." He told Li'a's story in the first documentary he made. Looking forward to his next movie project (to be undertaken with help from the fellowship

award), Kamae is planning an homage to another one of his mentors, renowned Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pūku'i. Again, he hopes young people will watch. "We must get messages across to our children, he says. "If they eome and enjoy and understand, the old stories will never die" □