Big Island Film Fest gears up

By CAROLYN LUCAS-ZENK

Stephens Media

The five-day Big Island Film Festival at the Mauna Lani Resort reminds attendees why they still love watching movies.

The nearly 60 independent films from 10 different countries will likely take viewers to places they’ve never been and inside the skin of people quite different from themselves. All offer a window onto the wider world, broadening perspectives, touching emotions and opening eyes to new wonders.

More than 2,000 people are anticipated to attend the seventh annual festival through May 28 at The Fairmont Orchid and The Shops at Mauna Lani.

The event offers daytime movies, free family films, evening screenings, filmmaking workshops and more.

It celebrates storytelling by featuring narrative filmmakers and their films. A tremendous effort is taken to feature inspiring stories told by local filmmakers or showcasing places and people of Hawaii. The festival also strives to give the public an opportunity to interact with filmmakers and actors, as well as experience the magic of the shared experience of watching great films as they were meant to be watched, said Leo Sears, the festival’s founder and executive director.

Sears said he has always been a fan of film. His earliest recollection of the cathedral-like palace of the movies was when he was 4-years-old, living in a small Kansas town. Every Saturday, he would attend the free movies shown at the local theater, fully engaged and moved by films like “Tarzan.”

His love of films and storytelling would lead him to various careers in the entertainment industry, including producing, screenwriting, play writing and directing. He also taught high school students theater and ran a dinner theater in Phoenix.

Sears said he decided to create a film festival on Hawaii Island because he wanted to share stories and connect people in a special way and with the aloha spirit. He saw it as way to fulfill a need in the community.

Typically, the festival doesn’t offer documentaries. But this year’s event has two special ones: “Malama Ko Aloha — Aunty Nona Beamer” and “Family of the Waa.” Shown for free May 24 at The Shops at Mauna Lani, the Maui-made film about Beamer shares her life and efforts to preserve Hawaiian culture. The film closing the festival is “Family of the Waa,” which shares the story of a crew of determined paddlers who circumnavigate the Hawaiian Islands in an outrigger canoe built and crewed in the ancient way. Their journey is more than 1,500 miles long, Sears said.

The festival’s honorees are celebrities Eloise Mumford and David James Elliott who will first appear at a “Meet the Stars” gala, costing $60 in advance, at 5 p.m. at The Fairmont Orchid’s Kilohana Room.

Mumford, a New York University graduate, appeared on Broadway and played opposite Dennis Hopper in STARZ acclaimed series “Crash,” before going on to guest star in “Law and Order SVU” and “Mercy.” She stars in the new Dreamworks/ABC series “The River” and has leading roles in upcoming feature films. Mumford’s reception, costing $35 in advance, begins at 4:30 p.m. May 26 in The Fairmont Orchid’s Wailana Gardens and Amphitheatre.

On Memorial Day, the Best of the Fest grand finale will star the Big Island’s own Kohala, with award-winning producer Charles Michael Brotman, whose song “Hapuna Sunset,” which was featured on “The Descendants” sound track.

The event includes the Kohala concert, audience-voted Best Feature and Best Short Films, as well as a silent auction benefiting the Tripler Army Medical Center’s Fisher House and the Hawaii Island Food Basket.

Ticket prices vary by the event for the festival. Movie admissions range from $5 to $15 with some kamaaina rates available. Special passes are also available and prices range from $25 to $400, depending on the package. Reservations are needed for awards-related events and receptions.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit BigIslandFilmFestival.com or call 883-0394.

Prices at the door may be higher. Family films are free and offered two hours nightly.