Last weekend, we participated in the Hawaiʻi Peopleʻs Fund’s 46th Anniversary Bash: Visionary Futures | Future Visionaries. As HPF put it, all of us participants make up their “incredible family of changemakers” – and what an honor it was to share space with so many impactful organizations & community members!
Our station was right next to the entrance of the event, which was held at Church of the Crossroads. As folks checked in and got settled into the space, they could stop by our room featuring a past, present & future theme. Vera took this vision and created a space to showcase our past through participants, media / press features, and promotional materials. One guest even shared how she felt this section was a work of art all on its own, as there were strings of past participant photos hung in layers over a large window frame. Any other photos that couldn’t fit were on the table, along with promo materials and magazines, in a type of organized chaos. It was beautiful to look at all the colors and smiling faces while reflecting on the journey of Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking as an organization.
Our present portion consisted of current events / screenings, video projections, an e-newsletter sign-up, and a laptop set up for folks to navigate our website. Additionally, we had three youth participants join us – which I would also consider a pivotal part of our present. Throughout the night, they helped explain our programming, shared info on our current events, and answered questions about their experiences with Making Media That Matters and the REEL camps. We had one our board members, Taylour, there as well to help answer questions and connect with guests.
Last but not least, the future portion was set up with a table, seats, and various hanging cards listing years in the future. There was a prompt on the table asking folks to add an event that they believe / hope will happen, then they could use markers and clothespins to add it to a literal “string of events” running from one side of the room to the other. It was great to talk with folks about where we hope to see the film industry, where we hope to see Hawaiʻi, and what we think our keiki will be doing. The possibilities are endless!
HPF really curated a night of wonder and inspiration, from futuristic costumes to the collective movements for change – it was inspiring and hopeful to see so many people with similar visions all in the same place. It felt like a night with ʻohana, complete with live music, ʻono food, intermittent rain and keiki running around playing hide and seek. We crossed paths with close friends and made new ones. And what a privilege it was to be able to meet so many different people, especially fellow filmmakers, activists and feminists. It was truly a night of visioning all the great things we are and can be. Mahalo nui loa Hawaiʻi People’s Fund!
