Kamakaniokaʻāina Paikai

In between growing frustrations toward cleaning up after an endless parade of tourists and reflections on a traumatizing memory, a voice rises from within a soft-spoken Hawaiian janitor down on the sidewalk in Waikiki. This narrative short film is inspired by a collection of poetry published posthumously featuring the work of Kānaka Maoli poet Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (1947-84).

When a Native Hawaiian Police Officer is called in on his day off to evict the protesting Native Hawaiian residents of a homeless settlement deemed “illegal” by the State of Hawaii, he is forced to choose between supporting his family, upholding the law, and doing what is morally right . . . or PONO.

In between growing frustrations toward cleaning up after an endless parade of tourists and reflections on a traumatizing memory, a voice rises from within a soft-spoken Hawaiian janitor down on the sidewalk in Waikiki. This narrative short film is inspired by a collection of poetry published posthumously featuring the work of Kānaka Maoli poet Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (1947-84).