Christopher Kahunahana
Waikiki, Christopher Kahunahana (2020)
Christopher Kahunahana is a Native Hawaiian screenwriter, producer, editor, and film director. His short film Lahaina Noon premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival. After participating in the Sundance Institute Native Lab, his first feature film, Waikiki, premiered at Hawaii, where it won Grand Jury Awards for Best Feature and Cinematography, and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, where it won Best North American Narrative Feature.
In an exclusive interview with Filmatique, Christopher Kahunahana discusses specific forms of economic exploitation in the 'paradise' of Hawaii, everyday life as a Kanaka Maoli, the politics of cinematic representation, and his current projects.
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FILMATIQUE: Waikiki follows the life of Kea, a young woman whose unlikely meeting with a homeless man sets her on a collision course with her own repressed traumas. In the process a portrait emerges of the island itself—a duplicitous landscape marked by stunning natural beauty, on the one hand, and sinister legacies of violence and colonialism on the other. When did you first have the idea to make this, your debut film?
CHRISTOPHER KAHUNAHANA: Thank you for recognizing those layers. As a Native Hawaiian, you learn at a young age that the reality of living in Hawai'i is not even remotely close to what tourists experience or what the film industry portrays. The desire to share a more accurate portrait of our islands is always something I've been interested in. The Hawaiian experience is not a singular one, but as I began writing different stories, certain themes became more apparent. While workshopping a script in the Sundance Institute Features Film Program and Native Labs, Waikiki emerged from there.
FLMTQ: In the film's opening, we witness Kea cycling from one job to the next, working as a singer, a hula dancer, and a teacher of the Hawaiian language. Nonetheless, it is revealed that like many native islanders, she cannot afford rent and is thus living out of her van. Can you comment on Waikiki as a meditation not only on the economic precarity that has become an epidemic in America, but the specific forms of economic precarity faced by characters such as Kea?
CK: I think it is important to note that the economic situation in Hawai'i is so much worse than precarious and really cannot be compared to the American economic space. In the continental United States, moving to a new city if you can't afford the one you're in, is precarious. But when a location and the natural elements of it (land, water, air, etc.) is your religion, your family member, your culture—it cannot be replaced or replicated by moving.
A system built on extraction and exploitation where everything is seen in terms of its monetary value is unnatural to me. The idea that a tree has no value unless it's cut down and sold is abhorrent and antithetical to Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians). While billions of dollars are spent marketing a plastic paradise and converting fertile land and water to glistening towers for the global elite, Hawai'i suffers from the highest per capita homelessness in America, with Native Hawaiians making up a disproportionate share. Families that have owned property for generations pre-"statehood" are unable to afford the property tax when a mansion is built next door. The median house price is a million dollars, while the minimum wage is $10.30. I could go on and on.
Waikiki, Christopher Kahunahana (2020)
FLMTQ: The film is very much anchored in Danielle Zalopany's powerful lead performance. Can you discuss your casting process for Waikiki? How did you work with Zalopany to bring her character to life?
CK: Danielle is an exceptional talent and a godsend. I knew without the right person in the role we didn't have a film. While casting, I attended a play at a small 30 seat theater "Kumu Kahua" in Honolulu, and saw Danielle. I immediately thought that with the right material and direction she would be amazing. I later met with her and did a screen test and was completely blown away by her range, vulnerability, and power.
Knowing the emotional demands of the role I needed to first determine if she was capable and willing to make that commitment and whether she was psychologically secure and wouldn't be personally triggered by the experience. During this time we built a bond of trust and during production I really didn't need to give her much direction, I just let her do her thing. I was sensitive to her needs and provided a safe space for her to work. I trusted her so much that I'd even switch up a day's shooting schedule, or make a location move, when she felt that she was in the right mental space to attack a more difficult scene.
FLMTQ: Another impressive quality lies in the film's cinematography, which captures the island's dualism while lending an oneiric quality to the narrative. Can you discuss your collaboration with cinematographer Ryan Miyamoto? What was your aesthetic approach?
CK: I could not have made the film without Ryan. His willingness to collaborate and his undeterrable spirit made the film possible and beautiful. His being Kanaka Maoli also gave us a shorthand, an understanding which would have been challenging without a Native Hawaiian DP. He intuitively knew what I was trying to do, which was not to present Hawai'i as the stereotypical backdrop but to really give the audience a glimpse into the unfortunate reality of everyday life as a Kanaka Maoli in occupied Hawai'i.
Waikiki, Christopher Kahunahana (2020)