Films from around the world are heading to theaters on Maui as part of the upcoming inaugural Wailuku Film Festival, hosted by the Maui County Film Office and the County of Maui, which runs June 17 through Jun 21. Tickets for the five-day event are on sale now.
One of the films screening at the festival is “Lahaina Strong,” which was created by a team that includes Matty Schweitzer, the documentary’s director and a third-generation Maui resident. The film is one of two directed by Schweitzer that will screen at Wailuku Film Festival.
The 92-minute documentary focuses on the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire that destroyed much of historic Lahaina town and killed more than 100 people. “Lahaina Rising” explores water rights, personal stories of how the Maui fires impacted families and the political movement that grew out of tragedy. Last year, the documentary won the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival’s Made in Hawaiʻi award for best feature film.
“The thing that really inspired me and made me want to tell the story was the community,” Schweitzer told Aloha State Daily. “There was just so much going on. We weren't sleeping much for the first few weeks. But there were a couple moments where really time almost stood still because so many people were helping, so many people were moving, so many people were organizing and bringing in boats — and with how sad we all were at the time — it was beautiful. There were a couple of moments that just really stood out to me where I'm like, ʻThis is the best of humanity, right here.’”
Schweitzer is also the director of “Finding True North,” which will also screen at the Wailuku Film Festival. That documentary features Josh Bogle, a quadruple amputee who found purpose in surfing.
At the moment, these films are not on public streaming services, so events like the Wailuku Film Festival are opportunities to see them on the big screen.
The Wailuku Film Festival features the work of more than 55 Hawaiʻi filmmakers, as well as ones from Aotearoa, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Fiji, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Tonga, and the continental U.S.
For independent filmmakers, film festivals are often a place to build an audience and eventually make connections with streaming services.
“Unless we have a previous connection with Netflix or a major distribution platform, the way to do it is hit the film festival circuit for a full year — try to gain as many awards and recognitions as possible — which will hopefully get the attention of a distribution platform,” Schweitzer said.
One of the challenges of creating “Lahaina Rising” was deciding which stories would make the final cut, Schweitzer said. Determining which devastation scenes to include — and which to leave out — was also challenging.
“There are over 10,000 people that experienced what happened in Lahaina on August 8, and there's truly over 10,000 stories,” he said. “Everyone has such an important story.”
"Lahaina Rising" puts a spotlight on the changemakers who organized after the Lahaina wildfire of August 2023. (Courtesy of "Lahaina Rising") 
The documentary also explores the devastation of the wildfires. (Courtesy of "Lahaina Rising") 
"Lahaina Rising" will be screening at the Wailuku Film Festival in June. (Courtesy of "Lahaina Rising")
In April, “Lahaina Rising” was screened at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, which focused on health, conflict and disaster. Watch some of the clips.
“The biggest thing I want people to take away is I want them to have hope for humanity,” Schweitzer said. “I want them to have hope for mankind and for our earth. Again, there are all these issues that we talk about — and especially for people not from Lahaina and not from Hawaiʻi — the story shows how our Island has been stripped away, and our rights have been stripped away, and our water has been stripped away, yet our people still have so much hope. Our people still have a fight in them. We're not giving up. We are still optimistic. There are so many ways in here where I hope people can see how strong individuals can be when we come together as one as a community.”
Wailuku Film Festival tickets for screenings at the ʻĪao Theater and Naylor Theater are $15, while those for the Best of Festival at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center are $20. Readers can also visit Go Fund Me to help bring “Lahaina Rising” to communities across the nation.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
