Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 11, 1 November 2022 — The Wind & The Reckoning A New Feature Length Film Tells the Story of Ko'olau and Pi'ilani [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Wind & The Reckoning A New Feature Length Film Tells the Story of Ko'olau and Pi'ilani

A new feature length film, The Wind & The Reckoning, is based on the true story of ū Native Hawaiian family at the time of the overthrow who refused to be separated by leprosy after the father and son contracted the disease. Together, the family was able to evade capture and banishment to Kalaupapa by hiding in Kalalau Valley. The film premiered Sept. 24 at the Boston Film Festival where it garnered nine awards, including Best Film. - All Photos: Courtesy īhe Wind & īhe Reckoning

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine "On a certain day there eame to our house at Mānā a man named Pokipala who workedfor the government, who had eome tofetch Koolau to be seen by the doctor because he had been observed by one who had suspected that he had leprosy, the royal disease, the disease that separated families." -Pi'ilani The epie story of Kaluaiko'olau (Ko'olau), a paniolo from Kaua'i striken with leprosy who, along with his family, evaded authorities in Kalalau Valley for three years has been made into a feature length film that will open at the Consolidated Theatres Ward in Honolulu on Nov. 4. Called The Wind & The Reckoning, the film is direeted by David L. Cunningham ( To End All Wars - 2001; Runningfor Grace - 2018) and stars Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story - 1994; Mulan - 2020) as Ko'olau, and Lindsey Anuhea Watson as Pi'ilani (Finding 'Ohana - 2021). The screenplay was written by John Fusco (Young Guns - 1988; Thunderheart - 1992; Hidalgo - 2004). The film is based on The True Story of Kaluaiko'olau, a memoir written by Pi'ilani in 1906 about the years she spent with her husband and son hiding in Kalalau Valley. Shortly after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, agents of the "provisional government" were ordered to round up Hawaiians suspected of having eontracted leprosy (Hansen's Disease) and banish them to

(L-R) Jason Scott Lee (Ko'olau), Kahiau Perreira (Kaleimanu), and Lindsey Wafson (Pi'ilani). "Hiki pū ia'u ke mapopo i ko lākou wā lu'ulu'u loa no ka 'ohana," wahi a Perreira. "Puni au i kēia mo'olelo no ka mea he 'ohana ikaika loa ma ka wā hulilau a ua pa'apono loa lākou me ke aloha nui no ke Akua Mana loa. No laila ua ha'aha'a loa au i ka hana 'ana o ia hāme'e o Kaleimanu he Kanaka Maoli ma ka wā kahiko." "I understood the deep pain [they had j for their family," said Perreira. "I like the story hecause this was a very strong family in a time of change and they were so steadfast and pono in their great love for Almighty God. I am very humhled to have played the character of the character of Kaleimanu, a Kanaka Maoli of the past."

the colony at Kalaupapa. It was a cruel policy that ripped families apart separating husbands and wives; parents and children. Ko'olau and his young son, Kaleimanu (played by newcomer Kahiau Perreira), had contracted the dreaded disease, but the family refused to be separated. Instead, they heeame fugitives, evading government authorities for three years until Ko'olau's death in 1896. Their defiance of the government - in the shadow of the overthrow of the kingdom - heeame the stuff of legend. It is a heartbreaking tale of love, family, sacrifice, courage and resistance. Director Cunningham said that the movie was 20 years in the making. "I was visiting a friend of mine, John Fusco, who is a prolific screenwriter. We were riding at his farm in Vermont and he asked 'David, have you ever heard about Ko'olau, the paniolo that got leprosy?' And I was embarrassed because I grew up in Hawai'i - I'm a Konawaena grad, I love studying history - and I hadn't heard about Ko'olau. He told me the story and said, 'we should make a movie about this."' The idea took hold and for years, Cunningham tried to get the movie made, tapping contacts and friends within the industry, one of whom was Steve McEveety, the executive producer for the classic Mel Gibson movie, Braveheart.

"When he [McEveety] heard about the story of SEE THE WIND & THE RECKONING ON PAGE 25

Ko'olau, he said 'this is Hawai'i's Braveheart,"' recalled Ted Liu, a co-producer for the film.

THE WIND & THE RECKONING Continued from page 24

Although he did not have the budget for a blockbuster on the scale of Braveheart, Cunningham was nevertheless able to pull together funding for the project and secure actors for the lead roles. But when two of those actors were tapped by Paramount and Disney - with whom they were under contract - for bigger projects, things fell apart and again the movie was put on hold. Ihen the pandemic happened, and the world locked down. "Everyone in the film industry was sitting around, bummed out and unahle to be productive" said Cunningham. "I went back to the script and thought to myself, this story is about a pandemic. We've got to do this now." Cunningham called his partners to pitch a new approach. "I said what if we scrape together what we ean and get the cast and crew to all work for the same amount - and all the 'above the line guys' - the writer, producers, director - we wave our fees and do this as a passion project?" His idea was to create a "bubble" to film in during the pandemic by having the cast and crew live together for the duration at an off-the-grid 55-acre ranch in Kohala. Their next hurdle was finding people willing to work under these conditions. "We got Wainani Young-Tomich to be a co-producer and our first assistant director," said Cunningham. "She's one of the top people in the state. Ihen Angela LaPrete from Hawai'i Five-0, another top producer." They decided not to go puhlie or go to casting directors. Instead they used their own personal networks and

started making calls to find actors and crew willing to be part of the project. One of the biggest challenges was getting the permits to make a film in the middle of the pandemic - they were the first filmmakers to do so. It was a complicated process but in the end Cunningham and his team set the standard for filming during COVID-19. "We got really strict. We had five full time people for COVID-related testing. Everyone was tested three times a week. We used masks, PPE (personal protective equipment), all of that." From the start, Cunningham wanted olelo Hawai'i to be used in all the dialogue between Native Hawaiian characters. The team was supportive but knew that would be a challenge. Although most of the 'Ōiwi actors were familiar with the language, the only cast member who was actually fluent was Perreira (Kaleimanu), a Hawaiian language immersion student. To address this deficit, Cunningham brought in Leina'ala Fruean as a cultural advisor. Fruean is the director of the Hāleo Hawai'i Language program. She, along with cultural advisors Siona Fruean and Kauhane Heloea began working with the actors on phrasing and pronunciation, at first via Zoom, then they later joined the cast and crew in the filming bubble. For the 'Ōiwi cast members, the kuleana of delivering their lines authentically in olelo Hawai'i was not taken lightly. "I graduated ffom Kamehameha and was taught a basic understanding of the language but [this] was a whole different challenge," said Watson (Pi'ilani). "Not only were we learning the dialogue, we had to be mindful of the cadence, inflection, pitch and pronunciation. I won't lie - there was a lot of weight on my shoulders because I wanted to make sure I did right by the language and my culture."

Hollywood heavyweight Lee (Ko'olau) said that learning the language was both an asset to getting into character as well as an obstacle. "In order to reshape how to pronunce the sounds took weeks of repetition. Working with Hawaiian dialect teachers specific to the area and time period to make the language feel and sound authentic in performance was a monumental task," he said. Hoku Pavao Jones who plays Keawe said "the challenge for me was speaking the language as they did during that time and in the Ni'ihau way whieh is mueh faster with less lilt than what we are used to hearing today. It was such an honor to olelo Hawai'i that I wanted to do it justice - whieh meant practicing the same sentence for an hour or more!" "Speaking olelo Hawai'i was such an honor. This is my first movie role and the fact that I got to speak the language of my kūpuna gives me ehieken skin," said Stuart Featheran, Jr., who plays Paoa. "I don't speak fluently, but every time I attempted to, it reminded me of when I got to converse with my Grandma Kamaile with the little bit that I did know." Filming for The Wind & The Reckoning took about six weeks altogether and was shot in late 2020 during the height of the pandemic almost entirely on the Kohala ranch that served as the bubble for the cast and crew. ' After we cut the film [and the lockdown ended] we were able to film outside of our bubble, so things like the opening paniolo roundup were shot later," said Cunningham. They also used visual effects shots to bring Kaua'i to Hawai'i. "We've got shots of the Nāpali Coast in the background and married that with Kohala," he explained.

Hoku Povoo Jones os Keowe. "This wos o very hefty role fhof I took very seriously os o Howoiion womon portroying onother Howoiion womon. The woy we [Howoiions] were treoted os less thon humon beings heeoue of o disease and becouse of money and greed was eerily similor to what we ore experiencing today. Yet we survived."Photos: Courtesy īhe Winel & īhe Reckoning

Jason Scott Lee as Ko'olau. The name of the film, The Wind & The Reckoning, was conceived by screenwriter John Fusco. Ko'olau means "Windward" and conveys the idea of standing upright in the wind. "The Reckoning" was the name of the bounty hunter's campoign to capture Ko'olau. So the nome is a poetic representation of Ko'olau standing agoinst his pursuers.

Lindsey Watson as Pi'ilani. After first burying her child, and then her husband a year later, Pi'iloni remoined in hiding alone with her grief in Kalalau Volley for onother yeor, feorful of retribution by the provisionol government. Pi'ilani never contracted the diseose.

Mark Medeiros as Kamu. To portroy the victims suffering from leprosy, the production teom used hundreds of visuol effects shots to complement the prosthetic makeup by Director Cunninghom's wife, makeup artist Judith Cunningham ond her team.

In addition to the 'Ōiwi leads, the film's extras were all loeal and mueh of the music for the film was performed by the Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus under SEE THE WIND & THE RECK0NING ON PAGE 26

the direction of Choral Master Lynell K. Bright. To keep to the budget, Cunningham tapped family members to help - including his wife, Judith, a makeup artist, who took the lead on creating the prosthetic leprosy makeup.

THE WIND & THE RECKONING Continued from page 25

Overall, it was an opportunity for loeal talent to shine. "We were a 100% Hawai'i crew," said Cunningham. "I've shot around the world, and this crew was kicking! They're right up there with the crews I've worked with in London, L.A., and Vancouver." With an eye on the long game, co-producer Liu hopes to empower loeal creative people to hone their crafts and find success globally. "Creativity is Hawai'i's greatest asset," said Liu. "We have a storytelling culture - the host culture, the amalgamation of cultures - we have already developed lots of creative products that we don't get enough credit for, from music and fashion to fusion cuisine." Liu saw that same passion in Cunningham. "I saw what he was trying to do - his heart for Hawai'i to not only create intellectual property that is about Hawai'i but owned by Hawai'i so that we get all the benefits. His heart is to train the next gener-

ation of professionals - not only storytellers, but the people behind and in ffont of the camera, and turn these stories into products with national and global appeal." "Hawai'i has a long history of TV and film. But it's mostly been used as a backdrop for its jungles and heaehes," added Cunningham. "Very few of the stories of this plaee have been told." For the 'Oiwi actors, their involvement in the project and helping to tell this particular story amidst a global pandemic was a deeply moving experience. 'As a Hawaiian woman it was a connection to the collective trauma that our people endured. I'm so grateful to be part of this incredibly powerful story. Our story," Pavao Jones reflected. "This story is one of the few triumphant stories ffom the terrible time of leprosy and the overthrow in Hawai'i," said Watson. "Ko'olau and Pi'ilani were powerful, strong-willed Hawaiians who rebelled against the intrusive provisional government and prevailed. They refused to bow down to the men that invaded our lands and banished our culture. The first time I read this story I felt very emotional and as I learned more, I felt an immense sense of pride as a Hawaiian." ■

In this scene, Pi'ilnni comforts their son, Koleimnnu, in their hideout. Also stricken with leprosy the child died while they were in hiding about o yeor before his fother, Ko'olou. About his possing Pi'iloni wrote: "... he quietly ebbed owoy, until, one doy, he put his orms obout my neek and rubbed his eheek ogoinst mine, and I sow that his lashes were wet with tears, and he whispered: 'Where is Popo? I am going to sleep.'" - Photo: Courtesy īhe Wind & īhe Recl<oning