Daniel Dae Kim has joined the upcoming film Makawalu as an executive producer, Deadline reports.
Makawalu was initiated by the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), according to Deadline, and is entirely created and co-written by eight Native Hawaiian filmmakers. It is the largest budgeted indie project entirely created by Native Hawaiians, and is fully funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Asian American Foundation (TAAF) and Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC).
Makawalu will center around eight unique perspectives at a typical 4th of July “luau” in Oahu. The word Makawalu refers to “different perspectives of a situation” in modern Hawaiian slang.
According to Hawaii News Now, the film was first pitched in 2021 and involved an extensive selection process. The eight filmmakers then participated in a five-day filmmaker lab and retreat in Honolulu with high-profile industry members, including Kim, Kerry Warkia (Auckland Daze, Waru), Amy Hill (Magnum P.I., All-American Girl) and Kiel McNaughton (My Life is Murder, Vai).
After the retreat, the filmmakers continued to work on the script and production through monthly workshops with other industry members such as Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Company You Keep, The Walking Dead), and Dana Ledoux Miller (Thai Cave Rescue, Narcos). In addition, Sarah S. Kim (Crossings, August At Akiko’s), and HIFF Artistic Director Anderson Le (Maika, Family Style) will be serving as producers. 3AD Media’s John Cheng (Horrible Bosses 2, Mirror Mirror), will also serve as executive producer alongside Kim.
“Makawalu represents an important step in recognizing Native Hawaiian filmmakers and the power of their stories,” said Kim in an exclusive interview with Deadline. “As someone who’s worked with this talented group firsthand, it’s been an honor to be able to amplify their voices and help this project come to life.”
HIFF wanted to ensure that the film centered the perspective of Native Hawaiians.
“The Makawalu project intends to provide an opportunity and access for these groundbreaking filmmakers to have full ownership over the telling of their story from their perspective,” Beckie Stocchetti, HIFF’s Executive Director and one of Makawalu‘s executive producers told Deadline.
“In order to make that happen we also needed to fundamentally change the traditional financing structure of independent film.”
Makawalu is currently undergoing pre-production, with shooting to begin in spring 2025, and is expected to be released sometime in early 2026. The HIFF will also launch HIFF Studios to support future independent films in Hawaii and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander creatives.
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