Independent Lens
One With the Whale
An Alaskan family faces online attacks around their ancestral practices when animal activists target their son, the youngest person to ever harpoon a whale for his village.
Hometown Legends Moloka'i
Five elders, revered in their communities, share the wisdom of Hawaiian culture, offering insight for societies worldwide and generations to come.
- Length
- 15 episodes x 1 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Short-Form Open Call
Producer/Director
Kolby Moser
Producer Kolby Akamu Moser is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker from Hawai’i. She founded ARIA Studios in 2008 and has worked with brands such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Four Seasons. In 2021, she was recognized as one of Hawai'i's "40 under 40." In 2022, she directed Hometown Legends, which has been featured in festivals around the world.
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The Film
Through the ages, native Hawaiians have been known for their storytelling and oral history. They live in balance with their environment, conscious that every action affects the land, ocean, and air around them, and rely on natural resources like fish, plants, and fruits for food. They lead with aloha, valuing kindness and centering care for the community—values passed down from kūpuna (elders).
Moloka’i is home to 7,000 people, with the largest concentration of native Hawaiians. It is also the least developed of all the islands, without a single traffic light on its entire 36-mile span. Locals explain that people remain only out of a kuleana (responsibility) to stay.
Hometown Legends Moloka’i focuses on five honored kūpuna of the region—Mac Poepoe, Vivian “Vani” Ainoa, Bobby Alain, Mervin Dudoit, and Walter Naki. They are fishermen, farmers, la’au lapa’au (plant medicine) practitioners, and historians. Through the stories and legacies of their island home, they share ancestral perspectives with modern-day audiences, connecting to people young and old, from Hawai’i and beyond, in an era when cross-generational conversations are waning. These kūpuna are keepers of culture, masters of their craft, and leaders in their communities, offering their insight.
