Animayo Wraps Virtual Edition with 35K Attendees; ‘Kapaemahu’ Wins Grand Prize

Among the more than 1,600 works submitted to Animayo, of which 67 were selected for the film competition, Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson under the animation direction of Daniel Sousa (U.S., 2020), came out on top with the Grand Jury Award for 2020. Kapaemahu thus obtains a direct pass for the Oscar Preselection in the Best Animation Short Film category, as Animayo is currently the only Academy Awards Qualifying Festival in Spain, designated now for three years.

Short Film, Big Apple: Hawaiian Film Premiering at Tribeca Film Festival – KITV

Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu’s animated short “Kapaemahu” will premiere in New York City at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Saying the Kapaemahu rocks in Waikiki represent significant Mahu history on O’ahu is just scratching the surface of what this roughly seven-minute, animated short covers.

Kapaemahu Awarded Grand Jury Prize by Spain’s Animayo International Film Festival

“We present to you the Grand Jury Award of Animayo 2020 (that will go directly to the Preselection of the Oscar Awards®) – KAPAEMAHU – the work of Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson, under the animation direction of Daniel Sousa. The Jury praised the enormous quality of the work, the originality of the script, the use of the color palette as well as a traditional animation that delighted the professionals in charge of granting such honor. In addition, it is an atypical work since it uses an old Hawaiian dialect, which increases the magic and the particularity of the work. Congratulations!! Kāleka!”

Animation the Perfect Medium for this Captivating Moolelo

Animation proves the perfect medium for the telling of this captivating mo‘olelo, and in the hands of Oscar-nominated animation director Daniel Sousa there’s an uplifting warmth to nearly every sequence, with gorgeous orange tones which fit well with the theme of healing and beautiful renderings of beams of light, elemental flames, reflections on water and a lens flare effect. There’s a simple, but enchanting hand painted look to the design of the film, with so much emotion in the characters’ eyes, and an exquisitely detailed tactile texture to the boulders themselves. The film’s emotional impact is further enhanced by Dan Golden’s gently stirring score and by Kaumakaiwa Kanakaole rousing, impassioned chant. A stunning, empowering animation that deserves to be widely seen.

Tribeca 2020 Review: Animated Shorts Curated By Whoopi Goldberg

Receiving a Special Jury Mention at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Kapaemahu is the latest film to highlight the culture and history of the Pacific. Much like Moana before, Kapaemahu brings to light a lost and forgotten story of a people who were bestowed a true gift that has become mostly lost with time. With Kapaemahu, the history finds a new audience and a new light.

Kapaemahu Receives Special Jury Mention in Tribeca Film Fest Awards

Kapaemahu Receives Special Jury Mention in Tribeca Film Fest Awards IndieWire – April 29, 2020: Though it postponed its annual in-person gathering, the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday handed out awards for the 2020 juried competition. In mid-March, festival organizers postponed the festival just weeks before it was set to bow in New York City. In the interim, some programming […]

19th Tribeca Film Fest Lines Up Eight Animated Shorts – Animation Magazine

The 19th annual Tribeca Film Festival (April 15-26), presented by AT&T, announced its 2020 Shorts Program lineup. Setting a record with over 6,100 submissions, the final program roster includes 64 diverse and captivating short films from 20 countries around the globe, and features 46 world premieres, including Kapaemahu directed by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson – a beautifully animated short that brings a Hawaiian legend to life.

Tribeca World Premiere for Kapaemahu

A unique collaboration by a Hawaiian cultural icon, an award-winning documentary duo, and an Oscar-nominated animator has resulted in a provocative short film that reveals the long suppressed history behind a prominent public monument on Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach.