Huliau Environmental Filmmaking Club
Now in its 13th year, our filmmaking club is our longest-running program. The program assists students in making short environmental films ranging from documentaries to music videos. These films share the important work being done by community groups in Maui Nui to protect the ʻāina and empower youth voices on environmental issues. In the 2023-24 school year we will be offering our semester long filmmaking program in the fall and also providing assistance to teachers who want to engage their students in creating films during school hours.
Serving youth from all Maui schools
We have served youth ages 12-18 from over 20 different schools on Maui and Molokaʻi! Your donations help keep our programs affordable for all students.
Over 100 films on YouTube!
Our YouTube channel now has over 100 student films with over 125,000 views! They empower the voices of Maui’s youth to educate our community and visitors about how they can help protect our island’s environment.
Award winning films!
The 100+ short environmental films produced by our filmmaking program have been selected over 180 times in 27 film festivals around the world! These films include documentaries, claymation films and even music videos.
Please read the schedule details to the right before applying. Students must be able to participate in all required sessions to apply.
2023 Fall Filmmaking Program
Our fall filmmaking program is open to students in grades 7-12 from all schools. Students will work together (usually grouped by age) to create a short environmental film over the fall semester. The program begins with three initial mandatory meetings both in-person and on Zoom. The majority of filming is done during fall break and editing sessions are scheduled in November and December. Our staff will provide equipment, as well as assistance in planning, filming, and editing. No prior experience is needed. The films will be shown at our student film festival in May, on YouTube, and entered in film festivals throughout the country. The $75 program fee includes snacks, equipment, and transportation. Need-based scholarships are available.
About the program schedule:
In order to participate, students must be able to attend all sessions listed below (no exceptions!). Please read the dates carefully and contact us with any questions before applying: Kapono<at>mauihuliaufoundation.org
Monday September 4th (Labor Day) from 8:30am-2pm at Hawaiian Canoe Club in Kahului
Tuesday September 12th 4-5:30pm on Zoom
Tuesday September 26th 4-5:30pm on Zoom
Fall break October 9th-13th All film teams will meet on October 9th (time TBA at September meetings) and at least two other days during break. If your school does not have fall break or you will not be on-island for break, do NOT sign up for the fall program.
Additional in-person and zoom sessions All film teams will schedule 2-3 editing sessions per student in November and early December. These are typically 1.5-2 hours afterschool, scheduled around your availability. Depending on the film topic chosen by your team, your team may also schedule an additional pre-production meeting (on Zoom or in person) between September 26th and October 9th and/or 1-2 additional filming sessions on weekends or holidays in October and November. All these additional sessions will be scheduled based on the availability of team members, so we can usually work around your other commitments.
In-School Filmmaking Support for Teachers & Students
In addition to our regular semester-long program, we will continue to offer filmmaking support to teachers and students during the 2023-24 school year. Teachers can use the form below to request support for film projects with their students which have an environmental or ʻāina-based focus. Examples can include documenting on-campus sustainability projects, exploring the ahupuaʻa where your school is located, student perspectives on an environmental topics, and more. Our staff will provide equipment and a combination of both virtual and in-school support for filmmaking projects for grades 7-12 in Maui County including planning, filming, and editing.
In addition, we can also offer assistance to individual students or small groups of high school students working on environmental films for senior projects or school projects. Students must be in grades 9-12 in Maui County to request our support in creating a short film. To qualify your film must have an environmental or ʻāina-based focus or message. After reviewing your request, we will contact you with further information. Use the link below to submit your request.
