From the mothers of Hawaii independent filmmaking to cutting edge artists at the top of their game, Reel Wāhine of Hawai‘i is a series of portraits of Hawaiʻi's top women filmmakers. Film producer JEANETTE PAULSON HERENIKO (The Land Has Eyes) transformed the landscape for Hawai‘i-based filmmakers when she founded the Hawai‘i International Film Festival in 1981. Prolific Native Hawaiian producer HEATHER HAUNANI GIUGNI (Family Ingredients) left the male-dominated world of television news to start the first woman-owned production company in Hawai‘i. Documentarian and camerawoman VICTORIA KEITH (Sand Island Story) produced and directed dozens of films highlighting Hawaiian culture, and the environmental and sustainability challenges of living on islands. Director CIARA LACY (Out of State) is an emerging Native Hawaiian film director and experienced producer whose films reflect her ethos: community-oriented and place-based. Producer, line producer and location manager CONNIE FLOREZ (Kumu Hina) was an early advocate for queer film in the Islands as the organizer and curator of the Honolulu LGBT Film Festival. Cinematographer and Director ANNE MISAWA’s work as cinematographer includes the stunning Margarita with a Straw and Treeless Mountain, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.

REEL WĀHINE OF HAWAI‘I is a film series that redresses gender inequity in the film industry by documenting the real-life stories of Hawai‘i women filmmakers through a female gaze. Directed and filmed by all women crews, these six short portraits reveal untold stories of local activists and artists who preserve Hawai‘i history and culture through film. The second season’s six new films feature award-winning filmmakers Lisa Kealohilai Altieri (editor, PAPA MAU, UNDER A JARVIS MOON), Marlene Booth (director, KŪ KANAKA/STAND TALL, PIDGIN THE VOICE OF HAWAI‘I ), Lisette Marie Kaualena Flanary (director, TOKYO HULA, NĀ KAMALEI MEN OF HULA, Erin Lau (writer & director, THE MOON AND THE NIGHT), Myrna Kamae (Producer, HISTORY OF THE SONS OF HAWAI‘I, LI‘A LEGACY OF A HAWAIIAN MAN), and Laura Margulies (Animator, HEPA! ROLLING DOWN LIKE PELE). The subjects recount their philosophies, challenges and triumphs in creating original films and telling unique local stories through a camera lens. The Reel Wāhine series is an intergenerational project where the directors and camerawomen collaborated with and mentored young women graduates of Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking’s programs. REEL WĀHINE OF HAWAI'I is produced by Hawai'i Women in Filmmaking a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with major funding by the National Endowment for the Arts. The directors of the films are as follows: LISA KEALOHILANI ALTIERI directed by Robin Lung; MARLENE BOOTH directed by Kimberlee Bassford; LISETTE MARIE KAUALENA FLANARY directed by Taylour Chang; ERIN LAU directed by Renea Veneri Stewart; MYRNA KAMAE directed by Shirley Thompson; LAURA MARGULIES directed by Vera Zambonelli. hawaiiwomeninfilmmaking.org/reelwahine

Cinematographer and Director ANNE MISAWA’s work as cinematographer includes the stunning Margarita with a Straw and Treeless Mountain, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.

Director CIARA LACY (Out of State) is an emerging Native Hawaiian film director and experienced producer whose films reflect her ethos: community-oriented and place-based.

Producer, line producer and location manager CONNIE FLOREZ (Kumu Hina) was an early advocate for queer film in the Islands as the organizer and curator of the Honolulu LGBT Film Festival.

Prolific Native Hawaiian producer HEATHER HAUNANI GIUGNI (Family Ingredients) left the male-dominated world of television news to start the first woman-owned production company in Hawai‘i.

Film producer JEANNETTE PAULSON HERENIKO (The Land Has Eyes) transformed the landscape for Hawai‘i-based filmmakers when she founded the Hawai‘i International Film Festival in 1981.

Documentarian and camerawoman VICTORIA KEITH (Sand Island Story) produced and directed dozens of films highlighting Hawaiian culture, and the environmental and sustainability challenges of living on islands.