David DeLuca

Authors Pavilion
Sunday May 6, 4:00 pm
David DeLuca and an invited audience will be discussing “A Digital Media World.”

Title of most recent project: Huliau

HULIAU is rooted in a distinctly Hawaiian tradition: respecting the “aina,” land, as an extension of oneself. The documentary takes a visually stimulating journey through painted illustrations, animation, underwater photography, and unique natural settings. A 10-year-old Hawaiian girl, recalling an old story told by her grandmother, leads the narration in the Hawaiian language. The story is interwoven with on-camera interviews from some of Hawai‘i’s leading cultural and environmental stewards. Famous Hawaiian “kumu hula” and the late world-renowned cultural performer Nona Beamer mentions, “Everything we do is for the good of the land: what we put into it is what we will get out of it.” These very passionate words are the heartbeat of HULIAU.  As a learning tool, this 35-minute film effectively presents Hawaii in such a way as to encourage people to truly discover the life around them, to get involved, and to take action!

Reviews:

Huliau is a three-part journey of culture, environment and our relationship with Hawai’i, as seen through the eyes of a ten-year-old girl. Through underwater photography, animation, painted illustrations, archival films and natural settings, this beautiful visual montage utilizes Hawaiian, Pidgin and English language to help better understand our place on these islands and how best to steward in the future for its people. Although the film is geared toward a younger audience, the informative interviews with Nona Beamer, Dr. Samuel Gon, Lynette Cruz, Gary Hooser, ‘Aulani Wilhelm, Pauline Sato and others impart lessons to foster a rich dialogue between the generations.

Creator David DeLuca is an independent filmmaker specializing in cinematically driven cultural and sociological themes. He has combined his career of multinational and cultural studies with film and publishing to create, collaborate, and produce contemporary and socially engaging content through multiple mediums such as film, books, web, and digital media. Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, David is a graduate of St. Ignatius High School and Saint Louis University. DeLuca is currently the director of publishing at Bess Press Inc., an internationally recognized independent trade and educational book publisher based in Honolulu, Hawai’i. HULIAU is his first 30min+ film. Previous work includes, the Thai documentary BIG WAVE (about the 2004 tsunami), DEDICATION (about the training of Chinese Olympic athletes), and production work on the short film CHIEF, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2008.

Official Huliau trailer