MELE MURALS
by Tadashi Nakamura
UP FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY
SCREENING INFORMATION:
Friday, December 9th, 2016: 5:15PM
Saturday, December 10th, 2016: 5:40PM
LOCAL'S CORNER
Mele Murals is a documentary on the transformative power of modern graffiti art and ancient Hawaiian culture for a new generation of Native Hawaiians. At the center of the story are two renowned street artists - Estria Miyashiro (aka Estria) and John Hina (aka Prime) - a group of Native Hawaiian youth,
and the rural community of
Waimea.
Set against the resurgence of Hawaiian language and culture of the
past twenty years, Estria and Prime tell how their street art has
taken them on personal journeys to discover their history, identity
and responsibilities as Hawaiian people. Estria, who left Hawai'i
to study art in San Francisco, made a name for himself as an
internationally known graffiti artist before returning to reconnect
with his Hawaiian roots. Prime, who grew up in the projects and
became one of the first kings of the Honolulu graffiti scene, left
a life of hustling and drugs after the birth of his first child and
returned to the art when he realized it was a way to help
youth.
Through the stories of these two graffiti artists and their joint
quest to uphold Hawaiian culture through mural-making, Mele
Murals shows how public art rooted in underground graffiti
unexpectedly but powerfully fuses with Native Hawaiian traditions
and contemporary life to impact the students, the town of
Waimea,
and most of all the artists.
MONARCH FILM FESTIVAL is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization. Tax Identification Number: 46-0576842
Contributions are tax deductible as permitted by law.