Lava fountains at night, Kīlauea, May 2018. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey (public domain)
A home for Hawaiian storytellers.
Mauliola Productions is a resident acting and scriptwriting company, built by and for Hawaiians. We give trained Hawaiian actors and writers a place to keep working, help communities preserve their moʻolelo, and are building toward lasting Indigenous media infrastructure in Hawaiʻi.
“E ola mau ka ʻōlelo, ka moʻolelo, a me ka ʻike o ko kākou kūpuna.”
May the language, the stories, and the knowledge of our ancestors continue to live.
Mauliola
Mauliola Productions takes its name from Mauliola, the home of Pele and Hiʻiaka at Kīlauea. The name comes from the moʻolelo of Pele and Hiʻiaka, one of the foundational stories of Hawaiʻi.
In the moʻolelo, Pele leaves Kahiki and travels along the island chain looking for a place where her family can settle, and finally makes her home at Kīlauea. With her comes her youngest and most beloved sister, Hiʻiakaikapoliopele, carried to Hawaiʻi in the form of an egg.
Hiʻiaka is remembered as a patron of hula and a figure of healing and renewal. She travels to Kauaʻi to bring Lohiʻau back, calling on the power of Uli to restore him to life. She is tied to Puna, its ʻōhiʻa lehua forests, and the regrowth that follows the lava.
Mauli ola holds together life force and wellbeing: the living breath that sustains a people.
The name is a responsibility. Our work is guided by the values it holds:
Care for ʻohana
A home where family gathers, and where knowledge is held and passed on.
Respect for place
Stories rooted in ʻāina, genealogy, and the communities who carry them.
Kuleana
Carrying responsibility on behalf of others, as Hiʻiaka did for her family.
Renewal of life
The obligation to give life to what is entrusted to us.
Our stories survived. Now they need infrastructure.
Hawaiian language, story, and knowledge have come back from the edge through the work of families, schools, and communities. Storytelling on screen is the next place that work needs a home.
Hawaiian was barred from the classroom
Act 57 of 1896 made English the medium of instruction in Hawaiʻi’s schools. Hawaiian was not allowed back as a language of instruction in public schools until 1987.1
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi became an official language
The 1978 State Constitution made Hawaiian an official language of the State of Hawaiʻi, alongside English.1
Revitalization started with families
The first Pūnana Leo Hawaiian immersion preschools opened in 1984. Many of their first students are now fluent adults, proof of what community-built infrastructure can do.1
A vast written archive
Hawaiian-language newspapers were published from 1834 into the 1940s, preserving moʻolelo, mele, genealogy, and history that communities can draw on today.
Native Hawaiians in the U.S.
The 2020 U.S. Census counted more than 600,000 Native Hawaiians. Very few of their stories reach the screen told by Hawaiians themselves.2
Proven models exist in the Pacific
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, founded in 1970 in Aotearoa, shows how a national training institution can build Indigenous screen and stage talent over generations.3
Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
What we are building
Hawaiian storytellers should be able to write, produce, and own their work with confidence, without waiting to be cast or told what stories to tell.
Lasting infrastructure so Hawaiian storytellers can write, produce, and own their own work.
A place to keep working after training, building credits, a reel, and real on-set experience.
Scriptwriting at the center, so the Company always has its own stories to act in and film.
Community documentation of moʻolelo, mele, and ʻike, passed from experts to the next generation.
Kuaʻana–kaikaina growth: those who come first guide those who come after.
Hawaiian protocol, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and established cultural frameworks at the root of all work.
Pacific relationships with Indigenous screen and performing arts institutions, including Toi Whakaari.
Institutional partnership that can carry this work at scale for generations.
Start small with people who are ready. Grow into community.
A resident acting & scriptwriting incubator
There are trained Hawaiian actors with nowhere to go. Graduates of the AOP Foundation have learned real craft: acting, writing, and how to work on set. When training ends, there is no structure for them to keep working. The Company closes that gap.
Our first production is underway
Actor, writer, and cultural practitioner Alex Tarrant has written a short film, developed alongside Luci Tarrant and a cast trained through the AOP Foundation. A table read is in development and we are seeking community support for full production. The proof of concept and the Company are the same thing.
A standing company
6 to 10 trained Hawaiian actors and writers who work together season after season, building shorthand, trust, and range that a loose talent pool can’t.
Scriptwriting as the engine
A constant pipeline of original scripts: early drafts, table reads, active production, and post. The Company is always writing its way into its next opportunity.
Seasonal original work
Short films, web series episodes, or theatrical pieces on a seasonal cadence, with credits in front of, behind, and on the page for the camera.
Open to outside work
When productions or partners need trained Hawaiian talent, the Company is the ready answer. The seasonal slate is the floor, not the ceiling.
A safe space to grow
Productions are scaled to readiness. Experimentation is part of the design. Cultural protocols and pule open all Company work.
A possible returning series
We are exploring whether the writing engine could feed an ongoing series, either an anthology of moʻolelo or a continuing world, shaped together as a group.
Bringing the Company’s work into communities
With a working rhythm and a track record, the Company turns outward. Working directly with community members, cultural experts, and knowledge holders, we help document and preserve community-specific moʻolelo, mele, and ʻike in written, audio, theatrical, and video form.
- Months 1–3 · ListeningStory gathering, relationship building, and identifying cultural experts and young proteges. Trust is built before cameras appear.
- Months 3–8 · MakingCollaborative scriptwriting, directing, and full production, driven by community with the Company leading and mentoring.
- Months 8–11 · KeepingPost-production and archiving of every interview, process, and piece of b-roll for community keeping.
- Month 12 · Final ShowcaseA community celebration of performance, mele, expert demonstrations, and a public screening. Experts present and sell their work, proteges share what they’ve learned, and proceeds return to the community.
Kuaʻana–Kaikaina
New members are not simply added to a roster. Each is welcomed by a founding member who takes on the role of kuaʻana, the older sibling, with a real responsibility to guide, support, and advocate for them. Mentorship happens inside the work: on scripts, in rehearsal, on set.
Today’s kaikaina become tomorrow’s kuaʻana. The relationship renews itself with every group that joins.
A five-year institutional path for Native Hawaiian media
Our long-term vision is a fully resourced Media & Arts Division, proposed in partnership with Kamehameha Schools, that trains students, incubates projects, and produces professional Kanaka Maoli-led media for local and global audiences. The Company and its community work are the living pilot that makes this possible.
Education
Training across acting, screenwriting, directing, cinematography, animation, game design, editing, sound, producing, and entertainment business.
Production
A professional studio producing film, television, animation, documentaries, digital content, and podcasts, employing students and alumni throughout.
Cultural Impact Fund
A funding arm investing directly in Native Hawaiian filmmakers, writers, animators, and creators, building long-term ownership of our stories.
Foundation
Kanaka-led task force, curriculum integration, partnerships, pilot courses, and a student media lab.
Talent & Pilots
First student cohort, mentored short films, an Arts Fellowship and Film Fund, and festival submissions.
Production Launch
A professional production division, industry mentors, and grants for Indigenous media.
Distribution
An annual showcase festival, streaming partnerships, and global Indigenous co-productions.
Sustainability
An endowment for Kanaka Maoli media, fellowships, and a global internship network.
Anticipated impact by year five
The Media & Arts Division is a proposed vision presented by Mauliola Productions. It has not been adopted or endorsed by Kamehameha Schools. Founded in 1887 under the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kamehameha Schools already has the educational infrastructure, cultural leadership, and student pipeline this vision would build on.4
Help us build it
The Company is not a future idea waiting for funding to begin. It is already underway. Here is what we are seeking support for.
Launch the Company & complete the first film
- Production funding for the first short film, from pre-production through post
- Documentation support to archive the full process
- Venue and event support for the table read and public screening
- Operational support to formalize the Company and begin its first full season
- Support for the scriptwriting pipeline: table reads, development time, and writers
Take the work into community
- A full community engagement cycle: travel, materials, and production
- Expanding Company membership as community work grows
- Venue and event support for the final showcase and celebration
- Continued documentation of the full community process
- Organizational infrastructure: 501(c)(3) or fiscal sponsorship
Funders & partners
Foundations, institutions, and sponsors who want to invest in Native Hawaiian storytelling.
Communities & knowledge holders
Kūpuna, practitioners, and communities with moʻolelo, mele, and ʻike to document and keep.
Storytellers
Hawaiian actors, writers, and makers with a foundation in performance, writing, directing, or cultural practice.
Our stories do not need Hollywood’s permission to be told.
They do not need to be filtered, reframed, or recast to fit a mold that was built without us in mind. What they need is infrastructure: the tools, the training, the organizational support, and the creative freedom to be told the way our community knows them.
From a single short film to an institution that could change what it means to tell Hawaiian stories, for generations to come. We invite you to be part of building it.
E ola. E ola mau. E ola nō.Live. Live on. Indeed, live.
Start a conversation
For partnership, funding, community collaboration, or to join the Company.
[email protected]