Directors Statement

I sat across from Kumu Kaeo Bradford in the small classroom where she hosts free cultural workshops for the community every Sunday. We were kneeling on the floor alongside two others, each of us clasping sticks of bamboo in our hands, palms still tingling with the sensation of beating them against the ground in unison. Kumu had just taught us a mele, a song once performed before Hawaiʻi’s aliʻi. Now she gazed at us from behind her glasses and asked, “And why do we still practice?” 

Beside me, her niece, Shy Kaleialohaokuupuuwai, guessed, “To honor our ancestors?” 

Kumu nodded but it wasn’t the answer she wanted. “What else?” 

“To perpetuate the culture,” I tried. Another nod, but again, not quite. Kumu leaned in towards her class, eyes glinting. 

“To resist extinction,” she said.  

Resist Extinction. The same words had been written on the t-shirt of Julia Diegmann, Outreach Specialist for Kauaʻi Forest Birds Recovery Project, when I’d last seen her tabling at Hanapepe’s Hawaiian Cultural Festival. Where KFBRP works to resist the extinction of Kauaʻi’s native forest birds, Kumu Kaeo dedicates her life to keeping the rich cultural traditions of Hawaiians alive. The existence of both native birds and Hawaiian culture have found themselves threatened to the point of near (and, in some cases, total) extinction since Western colonization first reached the shores of the island in the 1800s. Kauaʻi’s native birds struggle against avian malaria, habitat loss and introduced predators; Kauaʻi’s native people, against the lasting effects of a language ban, cultural and spiritual suppression, and an ever-evolving landscape. It has only been through dedicated acts of resistance that not all has been entirely lost — and we have individuals like Kumu Kaeo, Lukanicole Zavas, Mike DeMotta, and organizations like Kauaʻi Forest Birds Recovery Project and Birds, Not Mosquitos to thank. 

“Realm Of The Gods” is a piece which seeks to remind us of the precious and longstanding relationships that exist between birds, plants, and people. It’s a story of Hawaiian culture, ecology, and the powerful intersection between the two; but more than that, it’s homage to the irreplaceable native forest birds that care for and belong to these islands.

It is my hope that with this piece, we find ourselves inspired by the featured individuals working to keep living things alive and begin to recognize the power within ourselves to do the same. Mahalo nui to every participant and supporter of this piece. The world is better with you all.

– Juliana Sebben

To view the film, please click here:

REALM OF THE GODS