Pili Ka Moʻo

The Fukumitsu ʻOhana (family) of Hakipuʻu are Native Hawaiian taro farmers and keepers of this generational practice. While much of Oʻahu has become urbanized, Hakipuʻu remains a kīpuka (oasis) of traditional knowledge where great chiefs once resided and their bones still remain. The Fukumitsus are tossed into a world of complex real estate and judicial proceedings when nearby Kualoa Ranch, a large settler-owned corporation, destroys their familial burials to make way for continued development plans.

Directed by Justyn Ah Chong
Produced by Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavita Pillay, Tracy Rector
Written by Kaʻolonānalapaʻa Ah Chong

Director’s Bio: Justyn Ah Chong is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker from Mililani, Oʻahu. After graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2011, Justyn worked as a cinematographer and editor at ʻŌiwi Television Network – Hawaii’s premiere Indigenous broadcast station. In 2019 his debut narrative short Down on the Sidewalk in Waikīkī screened at over 25 festivals around the world, winning several awards. Most recently, Justyn was involved in producing the George Helm narrative bio-pic, Hawaiian Soul, which won best short at ImagineNative Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, and several others. He’s currently producing Kekama Amona’s narrative short film, E Mālama Pono Willy Boy, and is on the festival circuit with a short doc Pili Ka Moʻo, which recently won Best Short Documentary at the 2022 Maoriland Film Festival. Justyn is now in pre-production on a narrative anthology feature film entitled Makawalu. Concurrently, Justyn shoots, directs, and edits culturally-inspired, place-based films, music videos, and commercials on a work-for-hire basis through his production company, Olonā Media.

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