Presents
About
With 15 all new original songs by Grammy Award winner John Cruz and writer/director
Josh Goldman, Hawaiian Heart is a musical rom-com about coming back home, and the importance of 'Ohana.
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KA MELE
The Music
We are sharing a special preview of 5 songs from the film, so when it comes out you can sing along!
Check out the "Hawaiian Heart" EP available now everywhere you buy and stream music!
Cast
John Cruz
as
Jeff Kahananui
Taiana Tully
as
Lani Kahananui
Bronson Varde
as
Makoa Akela
Branscombe Richmond
as
Uncle Karl
KUleana
Responsibility
We consider it our kuleana to portray Hawaiian culture in our film both accurately and respectfully. It is our great honor to be collaborating on this film with Kumu Hula Leināʻala Jardin and Dr. Keao NeSmith.
Kumu Leināʻala was born and raised on Kauaʻi and has taught Hula for over 20 years. Her halau (hula school), Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leināʻala, has over 200 students, and is a yearly competitor at Merrie Monarch Festival, the most prestigious hula competition in Hawaiʻi. Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leināʻala serves as a source of Hawaiian culture, dance, language and history. Students become an extension of their ʻāina (ancestral land) and a voice of their kūpuna (ancestors).
Dr. NeSmith, who was also born and raised on Kauaʻi, is a Native Hawaiian linguist, educator and translator. He has taught Hawaiian language and Hawaiian Studies at universities such as University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, l'Université de la Polynésie française in ‘Outumaoro, Tahiti, the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. He has also translated a number of books into Hawaiian, including The Hobbit, The Little Prince, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the Harry Potter series.
We are thrilled and humbled to have the guidance of such knowledgeable kumu!
Kokua
To Help
Hawaiian Heart is a project that is filled with aloha, and we hope to share that aloha with the world. But it is a film that would never be possible without the Hawaiian lāhui or the generosity of the local community on Kauai. Our hope is to give back to that community in any way we can.
To help make certain that we are giving back in meaningful ways, we have formed a brain trust of local community leaders to advise our production.
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