On the Scene with ‘Hawaiian Soul’ producer Kaliko Ma‘i‘i

Kaliko Ma‘i‘i was born and raised in Honolulu. He graduated from Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Anuenue, a Hawaiian immersion school in Palolo, and continued his formal education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Academy of Creative Media.

His father, Steve Ma‘i‘i, was one-half of the Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning duo, Steve & Teresa; he started following in his father’s footsteps when he was 12. He stepped forward as a recording artist in 2007 with Kamana Beamer and Adam Zaslow — the trio was named Kamau, the title of the album was “Live From the Lo‘i.”

A short documentary film Kaliko Ma‘i‘i made about his father earned him an entry-level internship working with the cameramen on the ABC series “Lost.” Ma‘i‘i paid his dues and steadily “moved up the ranks,” working on “Lost,” the CBS reboot of “Hawaii ­Five-0,” and the “Jurassic World” films.

Conversations with another Native Hawaiian filmmaker, ‘Aina Paikai, were the beginning of a documentary about George Helm, the Native Hawaiian patriot who disappeared in 1977 during the early days of the Protect Kaho‘olawe Ohana’s campaign to end the use of the uninhabited island as a military target.

With Ma‘i‘i as producer, Paikai as writer/director/producer, and the active participation of the Helm ohana, a 20-minute documentary, “Hawaiian Soul,” was completed earlier this year. It received two awards — best made in Hawaii short and the audience award for best short film — at the 40th annual Hawai’i International Film Festival in November.

“Hawaiian Soul” will be screened at the Maui Film Festival, which opens Friday as a virtual event.

Congratulations on the film — which I’ve seen — and two well-deserved awards. Starting at the beginning, what got you and ‘Aina interested in doing a documentary on George Helm?

My father had played bass for George in his last year, and I’d read that his family used to call him “Froggy” when he was a child and said he couldn’t sing. I mentioned that to ‘Aina and he took it upon himself to start writing that story out. We work-shopped (the script) through the Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab program and then about two years ago we decided to make the film. We shot it last year October.

Tell me about the experience of putting it out there as a finished film.

George Helm is very loved and respected. We wanted to make a great film that honored him. So throughout the process, me and ‘Aina had been pretty hard on each other and ourselves only because we wanted the best for George Helm. With the starting of the HIFF (in November) we were unsure if the film was good or not. However as more and more people started to watch it, the feedback has been amazing. Many people are saying that they loved the film and that they were emotionally moved by the story. We are blown away, and we hope more people in Hawaii can watch the film.

What’s next for you as a filmmaker?

I’m currently developing an animated short film that could possibly be a longer series on (the demigod) Kamapua‘a with the artist Solomon Enos. There’s a potential for it to be a huge series. There are so many grand stories about our ­Hawaiian gods and Hawaiian legends and kupua (demigods).

Is there something you would like to do outside of films?

I still would love to do an album with Kamana but he’s been so busy — he’s a professor at UH and he’s written two books. I wish Kamau had done another album (in 2007) because (Kamana) writes so many songs. He’s got lots of great songs.

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Review: ‘Hawaiian Soul’ is a beautiful look at a larger-than-life hero

“Hawaiian Soul”

(20 minutes)

Almost from the time he disappeared, last seen traveling on a surfboard from Kahoolawe to Molokini, early in the morning of March 7, 1977, George Helm has been remembered as a larger-than-life Hawaiian patriot martyr. At least two songs have been written in his honor — “Hawaiian Soul,” by Jon Osorio and Randy Borden, and “Molokai Sweet Home,” by Malani Bilyeu. “Hawaiian Soul” is the better known, and it is a natural choice as the title of this must-see look at some of the experiences that shaped him.

Filmmakers ‘Aina Paikai and Kaliko Ma‘i‘i show Helm as a child being invited to take a turn playing music with the adults at a party. They show him watching American aircraft drop their bombs on what mainstream media referred to as the “Target Island.” And they remind us that back in the mid-1970s many in the Hawaiian community did not initially support the Protect Kaho‘olawe Ohana and its campaign to force an end to the bombing.

Kolea Fukumitsu (George Helm) has an uncanny resemblance to the man we remember. Several members of the Helm ohana appear in the film; keen eyes will catch a cameo by producer Ma‘i‘i as well.

“Hawaiian Soul” is an engaging remembrance of one of modern Hawaii’s untarnished heroes. It is also a beautiful piece of filmmaking.