The screening was opened with a traditional ceremony by the Hula Halau Na 'O Maile and musician Auntie Geri Kuhia. Kiowa Gordon, actor from the Twilight Saga New Moon and Native American from the Hualapai Tribe announced he will serve as a spokesperson for the documentary "Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty", and the upcoming documentary series that Bauknight is creating to raise awareness of vanishing cultures. After the screening of the 84 minute documentary, a panel discussion engaged the audience monitored by Addie Rolnick - Critical Race Studies Law Fellow, UCLA School of Law, with panelists including Arnie Saiki- Project Director, 'Imi Pono Projects, 'Ehu Kekahu Cardwell -The Koani Foundation, Leon Siu - Astute analyst and strategist in the Hawaiian political arena, and Christen Marquez - Filmmaker
The film was screened to a standing room only crowd of about 400 people in the filmmakers home town of Pasadena, California at the Pasadena Convention Center on April 3rd, with an introduction by vice-mayor, Victor Gordo.Support for the film in her hometown on Easter weekend is an expression of how eager the public is to help make changes
in social awareness of indigenous people, Bauknight believes. Most of the
people came out to learn more about the film that they had heard much about through traditional media coverage such as USA Today, Newsweek.com, The Honolulu
Supporters of the Sovereignty movement and of environmental sustainability on the lslands began a unique way of communicating with each other through the film in 2005. They have followed their movement and supported the film at its first private premiere at the US Capitol Building in June 2009, and watched the continued success at film festivals where it won awards including "Best Hawai'i Film" at the Maui Film Festival", "Best Environmental Film" and "Best Documentary Feature" at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival Film Festival in New York
"Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty" is and educational film about the cultural
“This is a must see film” Dan Lagronio
The Examiner
Comments on the film Hawaii A Voice For Sovereignty: from the audience
commented on the film:
"The Aloha spirit is alive and thriving in our hearts here ... Thank you
for your glorious ,eye opening,enlightening, concsiousness raising film. You
have seriously made a differnce." - Valerie Swift Bird
In a nutshell, the movie shows the current state of the HawaiianIndependence movement (dates back to the occupation of Hawaii by U.S. forces
in the late 1800s), history, interviews and words of key players incl. Henry
Kapono, Dennis Kanahele, etc.; local native culture; protests; incursions
by government authorities; the words, life and day to day struggles of
native Hawaiians against the onslaught of developers who seem intent on
paving over paradise; interviews with lawyers; spectacular footage of the
islands, much more. - Don Chin