Standing Above the Clouds
Expanded from the 2020 short film, three intergenerational Indigenous Hawaiian families seek to protect their native land and sacred mountain, the towering inactive volcano Mauna Kea, from the construction of the world’s largest telescope.
Director/Producer Jalena Keane-Lee, Subject Kapulei Flores and Producers Amber Espinosa-Jones and Erin Lau (Kanaka Moali) scheduled to attend.
Standing Above the Clouds Feature Trailer from Jalena Keane-Lee on Vimeo.
You can tell when a film is created with, by, for and in deep consent with community. Filmmakers, Jalena Keana-Lee, Amber Espinosa-Jones, and Erin Lau (Kanaka Maoli) have done just that with the permission of Auntie Pua Case (Kanaka Maoli) and her daughters. When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and around the world dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiian families, Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions.
- Director: Jalena Keane-Lee
- Principal Cast: Pua Case, Hāwane Rios, Kapulei Flores, Mehana Kihoi, Leinaʻala Sleightholm
- Premiere Status: U.S.
- Country: Hawaiian Kingdom, USA
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 83 min.
- Producer: Amber Espinosa-Jones, Erin Lau, Jalena Keane-Lee
- Cinematographers: Jalena Keane-Lee
- Editors: Diana Diroy
- Music: T.J. Keanu Tario
- Website: Official Film Website
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: English, Hawaiian
- International Sales: Breaktide Productions
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