Men of Hula | American Documentary

Men of Hula

America ReFramed Season 1

Feature Film
2013
59 Mins

This program captures the journey of legendary master teacher Robert Cazimero and the only all-male hula school in Hawai'i as they prepare to compete at the world's largest hula festival. Beyond deep-rooted stereotypes of "grass-skirt girls," the film tells a story of Hawaiian pride as the men celebrate their 30th anniversary in continuing the revival of men dancing hula.

Men of Hula

Feature Film
2013

Trailer

This program captures the journey of legendary master teacher Robert Cazimero and the only all-male hula school in Hawai'i as they prepare to compete at the world's largest hula festival. Beyond deep-rooted stereotypes of "grass-skirt girls," the film tells ...

93Queen

Feature Film
2018

Interview

Set in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, Brooklyn, 93Queen follows a group of tenacious Hasidic women who are smashing the patriarchy in their community by creating the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City. With unprecedented and ...

Still Tomorrow

Feature Film
2018

Interview

A village woman with no high school diploma becomes China's most famous poet, and her book of poetry the best-selling such volume in China in the past 20 years. Still Tomorrow follows Yu Xiuhua, a 39-year-old woman living with cerebral ...

The War to Be Her

Feature Film
2018

Trailer

In Waziristan, "one of the most dangerous places on earth", Maria Toorpakai defies the Taliban, disguising herself as a boy so she can play sports freely. But when she becomes a rising star, her true identity is revealed and death ...

Brimstone & Glory

Feature Film
2018

Interview

The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico, is a site of festivity unlike any other in the world. Conflagrant revelry engulfs the town, while artisans show off their technical virtuosity. For the three-quarters of Tultepec residents who work in pyrotechnics ...

Presenting Princess Shaw

Feature Film
2017

Feature Film

Samantha Montgomery placed her dreams on YouTube. Then they became a reality. Presenting Princess Shaw is the extraordinary story of an aspiring musician, down on her luck, who inspired internationally famous musician, composer and video artist Ophir "Kutiman" Kutiel to ...

Big Birding Day

Short Film
2011

Short Film

David Wilson offers a glimpse into the world of competitive birdwatching, as three friends attempt to see as many species as possible in 24 hours.

Flawed

Short Film
2011

Short Film

Artist/filmmaker Andrea Dorfman's drawings burst colorfully into life as she animates the story of her long-distance relationship with a man whose profession — plastic surgery — gives her plenty of fodder.

The Archive

Short Film
2010

Short Film

This is the story of a man and his records. Paul Mawhinney was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Over the years he has amassed what has become the world's largest record collection. Due to health issues and a struggling ...

SALT

Short Film
2010

Short Film

In his search for "somewhere I could point my camera into pure space," award-winning photographer Murray Fredericks began making annual solo camping trips to remote Lake Eyre and its salt flats in South Australia. These trips have yielded remarkable photos ...

A Different Color Blue

Short Film
2010

Short Film

In a dusty art studio tucked away in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, artist Charles Curtis Blackwell pores over works of beauty and remarkable spirit. A Different Color Blue explores the redemptive power of art, an ability to find hope ...

Joe's Violin

Short Film
2017

Short Film

In the Oscar-nominated Joe's Violin, a donated musical instrument forges an improbable friendship. 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Joe Feingold and 12-year-old Bronx school girl Brianna Perez show how the power of music can bring light in the darkest of times, and ...

Balloonfest

Short Film
2018

Short Film

The city of Cleveland was abuzz on September 27, 1986. Over 1.5 million balloons were about to be released at once, breaking the world record. What could go wrong?

The Velvet Underground Played At My High School

Short Film
2020

Short Film

This animated short recounts the Velvet Underground's first gig in 1965: in front of a crowd of shocked kids at a suburban New Jersey high school.

Clash

Short Film
2020

Short Film

Clash is a short experimental documentary critiquing the lack of diversity in on-screen representation in the U.K. today.

Gentlemen of Vision

Feature Film
2018

Trailer

Gentlemen of Vision follows a year in the life of coach, counselor and founder Marlon Wharton, and his 2015-2016 class of young Black males as he strives to rewrite future prospects for his students. While striving for excellence in school ...

100 Years

Feature Film
2018

Trailer

100 Years: One Woman's Fight for Justice is the compelling story of Elouise Cobell, a petite Blackfeet warrior from Montana, the great granddaughter of the legendary, Mountain Chief. As an advocate for Native American financial self-determination and independence, she conducted ...

Through the Repellent Fence

Feature Film
2018

Trailer

Through the Repellent Fence follows the creation of a two-mile long ephemeral art installation by three Native American artists: Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martínez, and Kade L. Twist. Collectively known as "Postcommodity," these artists explore Indigenous connections to place and ...

Finding Kukan

Feature Film
2018

Trailer

Filmmaker Robin Lung documents her 7-year journey to uncover the efforts of Li Ling-Ai, the visionary but uncredited producer of Kukan. Lung discovers a damaged film print of Kukan, and pieces together the untold tale of the two renegades behind ...

Random Acts of Legacy

Feature Film
2018

Trailer

Filmmaker Ali Kazimi finds a rare cache of deteriorating 16mm home movies spanning from 1936 to 1951, and deftly crafts a story of history and memory in Random Acts of Legacy. The family archive that Kazimi discovers was the work ...

Film Credits

Vincent Keala Lucero Director of Photography
Lisette Marie Flanary Director, Producer
Keo Woolford Co-Producer
Tali Weissman Editor

Press Room

American Documentary Celebrates Social Justice Filmmaker & LGBTQ+ AANHPI Community Advocate PJ Raval with the Creative Visionary Award at Fall GalaFest American Documentary, UFO, Chicken & Egg Pictures Announce “Shorts In-Session,” a New Work-in-Progress Initiative to Support Short-form Documentary Filmmakers ‘POV’ Follows Young Mayor Brandon Scott, Who Risks it All to Save Baltimore From Chronic Gun Violence in The Body Politic

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