Standing Above the Clouds Showcase & Panel Discussion

Join us for a screening of a documentary that takes you through of one of Hawaiʻi's most recent controversies. Directed and produced by Jalena Keane-Lee, Standing Above the Clouds is a short film that takes you on an emotional journey following the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) protest.

Following the showing of the short film, please join us for an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion with activitst, Pua Case, and composer, T.J. Keanu Tario. This event offers a unique opportunity to hear and discuss in more detail about the process of portraying this monumental movement through film and music.

Standing Above the Clouds highlights the movement to protect Mauna Kea through the intergenerational stories of women in three Native Hawaiian families as they stand for the sacred mountain. The film follows teacher and community organizer Pua Case and her two daughters — artist-activists Hāwane Rios and Kapulei Flores — who have been called to stop the telescope since 2010. Their lives quickly become consumed with frontline actions and court proceedings and immersed in ceremonies and cultural practices. As they face opposition and arrests, they are joined by a community who have dedicated their lives to protecting Mauna Kea.

The film is an intimate journey through the women’s lives both on and off the mountain, and explores the physical and emotional toll of sustaining a grassroots movement. After nine months of living on the mountain, blocking construction, and establishing a frontline camp, Standing Above The Clouds shows their journey to heal once they return to their homes in March 2020. In the face of challenges and tragedy, the mountain gifts each woman with hope and strength and the understanding that victory is in standing in unity for sacred places and that healing occurs through the sisterhood they have created along the way.

to read more about the documentary & how you can support the lāhui.

Pua Case was born and raised on the Island of Hawai’i surrounded by the high mountains of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualalai and Kohala. She is a Kumu Hula, a teacher of traditional dance and chant, and a teacher of the ways, culture and traditions of the kanaka maoli or native peoples of Hawai’i. With a degree in Hawaiian Language and culture, and a teaching degree in Social Studies, interwoven with the traditional teachings, philosophies and expectations from her kupuna or elders, Pua has integrated ‘Ike Hawai’i or Hawaiian knowledge and lessons into the public school system for over 30 years. Pua sits on various educational and cultural boards including the Waimea Hawaiian Civic Club, Waimea Community Education Hui, and MKEA, Mauna Kea Education and Awareness. Pua and her family are petitioners in the Contested Case hearing filed on behalf of Mauna Kea Mountain. As a representative of the Mauna Kea ‘Ohana Na Kia’i Mauna, Idle No More Hawai’i Warriors Rising and Idle No More Mauna, Kea she and her family have traveled throughout the continent, to Europe and various places across the Pacific to network, support and address the issues and challenges facing sacred places and life ways of the people of Hawaiʻi.

T.J. Keanu Tario/Laritza Labouche is a multifaceted composer, pianist, and Hawaiian cultural practitioner by day, and ballroom vogue drag artist by night. They are the first Kanaka Maoli graduate of The Juilliard School, in the classical piano division, and The California Institute of the Arts. Their compositions have been performed by ensembles including the New York Youth Symphony, the Juilliard Chamber Orchestra and the Attacca String Quartet. Performances for the concert stage include ‘Capriccio’ for One Piano/Four Hands commissioned by the Aloha International Piano Festival and premiered by Lisa Nakamichi and Jon Nakamatsu. The score to short film, A Fish Out of Water, was the Official 2017 Winner of Boundless in Brooklyn: A 48 Hour Dance Film Contest and premiered at the Cinéma Majestic Passy/Écrans de Paris.

Doors will open at 6PM, please have your e-ticket or a printed ticket ready to present at the door. Tickets will be available at the door! The film screening will begin at 6:30PM followed by a panel discussion at 7PM.

Host or Publisher PAʻI Foundation