Shaka Film Press Kit

“Shaka, A Story of Aloha”

“Shaka, A Story of Aloha” is a feature-length documentary film scheduled for release in late 2023. While the initial goal was to produce a 30-minute educational release for classrooms, the public has driven demand for a general release. Thus our goal is to interact with film festivals and distributors to ultimately gain releases whether in cinema, PBS, local TV stations and/or online streaming.

The project has been in development since 2019 when first funding and cultural experts were provided by Kamehameha Schools. Since that time, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced multiple production closures, but the project has completed all major shots including an authentic Huikau and a live Shaka Contest.

Through production, it became clear that there are multiple competing origin stories, In the end, there may be no definitive single story, and if so, multiple credible theories will be presented. Says producer Steve Sue, “The titling of the film as ‘A Story…’ represents only our group’s best efforts, leaving room for others to tell their versions of the story.” For more, see Filmmaker’s Statement »

Produced by a Nonprofit with Volunteers

The film is produced by ID8, a Hawaii-based 501C3 nonprofit organization. Top-level producers/artists are unpaid and act only as volunteers who will never profit by participating in the production. These include Executive Producer Bryan Spicer (director/producer Hawaii-Five-O, Magnum PI), Grammy-nominated Music Director Henry Kapono and Exec Producer/Producer/Writer Steve Sue. Additional volunteers include Associate Producers Sean Morris, Jill Kuramoto, Ryan Ozawa, Rob Webb, Avian Ku, Minette Lew-McCabe. Volunteer Cultural Advisors include Robert “Lono” Ikuwe, Manu Boyd and Hailama Farden.

Utilizing Hawai’i Talent

The production team (paid wages) is built from local up-and-coming talents from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa Academy of Creative Media Program. These include native Hawaiian Director Alex Bocchieri, Cinematographer Kristle Backe and Assistant Editor Sara Brekke. Dozens of other local crew members are included in the production under this production team.

Demand for the Shaka: Project Shaka

The film has spawned several Shaka initiatives including a free Shaka Sticker program, a thought leader summit series, a school curriculum program, a Shaka Contest and a Shaka Monument program. These programs and the film are collectively integrated as Project Shaka. See projectshaka.com »

Media Contact: Email Steve Sue »