Timeless

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the premiere for ‘Ola: Health is Everything,’ my first feature documentary. I remember that night at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival vividly; the sold out theater, the crush of the crowd after the credits rolled, the inescapable feeling that lightning had struck.

It’s now been a decade since the film—which I’ve called my love letter to Hawai‘i—changed my life. After hundreds of screenings that took me across the state and the country, with thousands more falling under Ola’s spell through online viewings, I know with certainty that it has changed lives. The notes and emails, the passionate comments and heartfelt sharing, I remember them all.

For years afterward, even after we finished its sequel, I kept referring to myself in town halls as an ‘accidental filmmaker.’ Back then it was both a humble turn of phrase and a statement of fact.

Today, I realize that it was no accident for me to be in the right place, at the right time, to write and direct that film. I’m forever grateful to the team who helped me unleash that magic into the world, and just as grateful to the thousands who not only understood what that love letter meant, but took it on themselves to nurture that love through their own words and actions.

The film and the story of its origins is no longer widely available, but I will be at the ready this year—any time, anywhere—with my sole DVD copy to share a love letter whose relevance remain timeless.