Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty premieres at Maui Film Festival

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 19, 2009 – Maui Film Festival has announced that it will host the public world premiere of “ Hawaii A Voice for Sovereignty”, a documentary by award winning photojournalist Catherine Bauknight. This epic documentary will be showing as a Special Sunday Surprise film at 8:00pm on Father's Day Sunday, June 21st at the Solar powered SandDance Theater on Wailea Beach (below the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea). The 2009 Maui Film Festival, scheduled June 17-21 at the Wailea Resort and the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului, will honor Willie Nelson and Zooey Deschanel in person during the event. The festival is also scheduled to open with Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film winner "Departures," along with "Highwater," and will close with "More Than a Game" at its outdoor Celestial Cinema screening.

"Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty" explores the culture and spirituality of the native Hawaiian People and its connection to the land . The film first screened at a private event at the Nation’s Capitol Building visitors center several. Politicians, authors, the Hawaiian Community and notaries attended. The intention of filmmaker Catherine Bauknights' documentary screening initially in the capital was to honor the legacy that Queen Liliuokalani left after Hawaii was overthrown in 1893. Queen Liliuokalani devoted her life to furthering the cause of Hawaiian
rights in both Hawaii and Washington D.C. Now the documentary is coming home to celebrate these voices of the Hawaiian people that will  resonate throughout the world.

Since the successful Washington screening there has been coverage world wide including Voice of America, Pasadena Weekly, and Honolulu Advertiser and resulted in unprecedented requests from the public to have "Hawaii A Voice for Sovereignty" premiere in Hawaii. Bauknight responded by calling  Barry Rivers president of the Maui Film Festival 4 days before the kick off of the Maui Film Festival to request that the documentary be screened at the festival. River's quick response was astounding to Bauknght. She said that he coordinated the schedule so that the film could be included in full support of the Native Hawaiian Community and to get the educational and historical information out to the public. His heart is full of aloha for the Hawaiian culture and their journey to sustainability.

"Barry accepted the "short" version of "Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty" in support of the Native Hawaiian community in 2007 when the word "sovereignty" was not a word that could freely be spoken aloud without ridicule. His last words to me in 2007 were to bring it back when I finished the full length," Bauknight says. He gave me hope at that time that it could be accepted as a film full of controversy but with a strong message of  truth," Bauknight says. Bauknight  says that she looks forward to sharing this historic screening of "Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty" on the special island of Maui at the warm and community oriented Maui Film Festival.  "I'm honored to be back in the homeland to share this great accomplishment of the people who created this documentary ” says filmmaker Catherine Bauknight.

This modern epic documentary, filmed over four years, contains rare interviews with Native Hawaiians in their homes, at sacred sites, in mountains and the rain forests. The movement for cultural, environmental, and economic sustainability, since the takeover is spoken in the voice of the Kanaka Maoli. Along with the voices of these people of the land”, Professor Haunani-Kay Trask, Senator J. Kalani English, Grammy nominee Willie K, Clifford Nae'ole and other Hawaii an leaders, take us into rarely seen ancient lifestyles where spirituality, culture, and care for the land form a sacred bond between humankind and the natural world. They reveal their quest to secure their Hawaiian rights as the host culture, and their economic, social, and ecological future. By bridging their ancient knowledge with wisdom and modern technologies such as wind, solar, and wave renewable energy and agricultural land systems they move towards their goal of sustainability.

As with all SandDance Theater screenings, this complimentary screening of "Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty" during the Maui Film Festival's 10th annual  event, continues a tradition of providing complimentary screenings at the SandDance Theater. Festival Founder and Director Barry Rivers noted that "The Festival loves providing complimentary screenings to our Maui 'Ohana and island visitors, as well as providing complimentary admission to keiki 12 & under to both this year's Opening and Closing Night Celestial Cinema triple features, and all we ask is that everyone understand that these free screenings are made possible by those who purchase a $10 or $20 ticket to our other screenings. We hope anyone choosing to attend any SandDance Theater screening will also choose to help insure that free screenings can continue by helping insure the event's vitality and longevity by also financially supporting the Festival this year."

About Maui Film Festival
Maui Film Festival was founded in 1998 by Barry Rivers and is built on the belief that great film making is pure alchemy. When filmmakers choose to tell compassionate life affirming stories they turn darkness into light. It is this belief in the power of creativity to enlighten as well entertain. That is the guiding principle that gives the Maui Film Festival character, its energy, and its soul. For more information and a festival schedule go to
www.mauifilmfestival.com