This is a very special project to me. My creative partner and I were sent to Hawaii to discover what Aloha meant to the locals. We had no producer with us, and no interviews set up. It was up to us to find people who would talk to us and share their stories. We soon found out that Kona was a tight community, and we heard from multiple people that we needed to track down Aunty Aka - she was the person we needed to talk to. Locals went to work helping us find her. We drove around the island, shooting video and talking to other members of the Kona Ohana.
By the time we were put in touch with Aka, we didn’t have much time left in Kona. She invited us over to her house and let us interview her. She had such great stories and a beautiful message to share.
Not long after that day in Hawaii Aka passed away. She had a copy of the video, but her family couldn’t find it. They were able to get in touch with us and we sent them a link. They played this video at her memorial.
Adam and I had such an amazing experience meeting the people of Kona, talking with Aka, and making this video. We were honored to capture a moment in time of Aka and her message. We are so glad her family and friends around the World have this little video to watch and remember her by.