“In the 21st century, the world will search for peace and they'll look to Hawaii because Hawaii has the key and that key is aloha.”- Pilahi Paki This quote is the inspiration behind this film. Through Kuana`ike we hope to facilitate the promotion of world peace by expanding the awareness and practice of ALOHA. We believe ALOHA is the solution to many, if not all, of the world’s issues.

 

Breath Of Aloha aims to spark interest and ignite curiosity to find out what is ALOHA and reach beyond the shores of Hawaii to teach the world about the importance of ALOHA. People know the word ALOHA, however, many don’t yet understand the depth, meaning and responsibility to activate ALOHA within their own lives. The practice of ALOHA can raise the vibration in communities, countries and the world. Breath Of Aloha, episode 1, will immerse you into the daily lives of people living ALOHA within the shores of the Hawaiian islands and while on a journey up to the shores of Alaska.

 

Production of Breath of Aloha began in early 2023. With the recent fire tragedy that has happened in Maui, we feel this message is more important than ever. There has been so much loss of life, land, homes, businesses, normalcy, and the everyday way of life on Maui. Currently, there are bad actors who are not respecting the process of healing needed right now. Those who are making land grabs, spreading conspiracies, creating distrust, and just a lack of respect for the kānaka māoli or Native Hawaiians, and others who live in Lāhainā, and other areas of Maui are not being Aloha. That said, amidst the chaos, there is love and ALOHA. There is also a lot of ALOHA that doesn’t always make the headlines. We felt the urgency to get this film out as soon as possible and hopefully it will spread some ALOHA in this desperate time.

 

Our executive producer J.R. Moorhead’s favorite elementary school pastime was hearing stories from Nā Kūpuna, or Elders, that would come into the classroom. These stories were engaging and came with a deeper kaona, or message. JR, President of the non-profit Kuana`ike, has the goal to share stories of people being ALOHA through the production of the Breath of Aloha documentary series.

 

The first episode will be focused on people in Hawaii being ALOHA. Future episodes will showcase local people across the Hawaiian islands, including other regions of the world practicing and “being” ALOHA even though this term may not be used in their communities. This first episode was produced as a proof of concept to illustrate what can be done with our vision. Breath Of Aloha was created on a shoe-string, out-of-pocket budget with the intention of creating awareness of our mission and to help secure funding to help expand this mission. Kuana`ike hopes to bring the message of ALOHA to the world through the Breath Of Aloha film series and uplift our humanity.

 

Production team:

Executive Producer: J.R. Moorhead

Director, Videographer and Editor: Sarah Betcher of Wisdom Keeper Media https://wisdomkeepermedia.com/

Cultural Advisor and Narrator: Ryan Souza

Post-Production Coordinator: Rob Young