Hawaiian filmmakers tour another Pacific coast

Young Chang

One group of filmmakers and local hosts took it easy Friday afternoon.

They could’ve hit the shopping scene, the amusement parks, maybe even

Hollywood, but stars of the Hawaiian film “Ka’ililauokekoa” instead

walked the Newport Pier on their first afternoon at the Newport Beach

Film Festival.

Down below, it was spring break incarnate. Kids invaded a beach that

had earlier beheld only birds and morning walkers as the day imitated a

June afternoon.

Far away, where ocean became indiscernible from sky, the sun shone.

And right under their feet, on a platform that was closer to the water

than these tourists were used to, the planks on the pier seemed to never

end.

“The piers in Hawaii, they’re not this long,” said Noelani Iokepa, who

starred in “Ka’ililauokekoa.” “And there’s no place in Hawaii where you

can drive on the ferry.”

Iokepa, her co-star and boyfriend Kapono Guerrero, director of the

film Kala’i Ontai, and his wife Kau’i Ontai -- who also appeared in the

film -- had just come from being driven across the Balboa Island ferry by

locals Cammie Leslie and Debbie Davis.

The two members of the Newport Beach Premiere Cinema Guild had freed

up their afternoon -- Leslie is a real estate broker, Davis designs

wetsuits for women -- to make sure the visiting filmmakers got to know

the city outside of Fashion Island’s Marriott Hotel.

It was part of the festival’s “host a filmmaker” project, which teams

local volunteers up with directors, actors, writers, producers, etc., to

show them around town. The project is in its first year.

“Ka’ililauokekoa” was shown at the festival on Sunday, but other than

the screening and a harbor cruise scheduled for today, the guests were

free to do as they pleased.

The piece, about a girl whose father gives her away to a powerful

chief, is one of the festival’s almost 60 featured full-length films. It

was originally made for children as part of the Hawaiian school system’s

video curriculum, the actors said. But now that the title has grabbed the

attention of American filmmakers, the cast and crew want to send out a

message.

“That Hawaiians are real people,” Guerrero said. “There’s a lot more

than Waikiki.”

Iokepa added that their goal is to network with other Hawaiians while

in the U.S. And Leslie and Davis’ guidance when it comes to matters of

leisure and entertainment has been helpful, she said.

“It’s a little bit overwhelming when you’re flying out, so it’s nice

to have a friendly face to greet you at the airport,” said Rita Goldberg,

chairman of the guild, “and to kind of show you around to make heads or

tails of things.”

What tops the visitors’ list of things to do?

“The Crab Cooker,” Guerrero said promptly. “We want to eat at The Crab

Cooker. We heard a lot about it.”