Consolidated Theaters To Give 10% Of Proceeds From One Voice Ticket Sales To Ke Ali'i Pauahi Foundation

HONOLULU, HI (August 8, 2011) – Consolidated Theaters has committed to donate 10% of the net proceeds from the film’s limited release in Hawaiʻi to the Ke Aliʻi Pauahi Foundation, a non-profit charitable support organization of the Kamehameha Schools. The Foundation’s mission is to perpetuate the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop by seeking and developing new and diverse sources of income to support the ever-increasing educational needs and goals of people of Hawaiian ancestry.

“The Foundation is honored and excited to be a part of the Hawai‘i release of One Voice,” said Kalei Stern, executive director of Ke Ali‘i Pauahi Foundation and a 1989 graduate of Kamehameha Schools. “It’s a great opportunity for all of Hawai‘i to witness the effort, emotion and pride that is at the heart of the Kamehameha Schools’ Song Contest.”

The multi-award winning documentary One Voice is set to make its theatrical release in Hawaiʻi at three Consolidated Theaters beginning on Friday, August 26th. Tickets are currently available online for purchase for the highly anticipated release at Ward 16, Kahala 8, and Kaʻahumanu 6 in Kahului, Maui.

The locally produced film about ten Kamehameha Schools student song leaders on their journey to Song Contest won the Audience Choice Award last year at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival (HIFF). Fully funded by Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC), One Voice also won the 2011 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature and the 2010 San Diego Asian Film Festival Overall Audience Award.

The story One Voice tells is unique to the islands of Hawaiʻi. Every year, Kamehameha Schools holds a Song Contest where 2,000 high school students compete and young leaders direct their peers in singing Hawaiian music in four-part harmony. One Voice shares the thrill of the competition via the personal stories of the student song directors as they experience the trials and tribulations of competition in this high school event.

“The Kamehameha Schools Song Contest is a unique tradition of cultural celebration. The film gives viewers a front row seat into Hawai’i’s heritage, demonstrating our love for community, passion for Hawaiian music, and the story of a people who nearly lost their language and culture,” said Ruth Bolan, Executive Director at PIC.

Following the elected student song directors, the audience sees how the tradition creates an unforgettable experience that builds class unity, instills cultural pride, and builds character. The film also explores their world outside of school by meeting their families, or ‘ohana, and revealing their hopes and dreams for the future. Through the stories and lives of these contemporary high school students, the audience experiences Hawaiian culture as it has survived, flourished, and grown through the universal power of music and song.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR/PRODUCERS:

As a filmmaker and hula dancer, One Voice director Lisette Marie Flanary creates documentary films that celebrate a renaissance of traditional Hawaiian culture in the modern world. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Flanary is the writer, producer and director of Lehua Films based in New York City. Her award- winning movie “Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula,” was part of the Independent Lens series on PBS in 2008, and screened in numerous film festivals both in the U-S and abroad. The film premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival’s Sunset on the Beach event in 2006, where Flanary received the Hawaii Filmmaker Award and an Audience Award for Best Documentary. In 2007, “Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula” garnered an Emerging Director Award at the New York Asian American International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the San Francisco Asian
American Film Festival, Best Non-Fiction Feature at the VCFilmFest and Best Documentary at the San Diego Asian American Film Festival.

Currently, Flanary is in pre-production on the final film of her trilogy entitled “Tokyo Hula,” which focuses on the intense popularity of hula dancing in Japan. And, One Voice won her a nomination for Best Director of a Documentary at the 2010 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Rim Festival.

Executive Director of Pacific Islanders in Communications and film producer, Ruth Bolan graduated with Honors from Harvard University, where she ran the Experimental Theater at the Loeb Drama Center. Her first job was at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. working with Artistic Director Peter Sellars. She then produced theater on and off Broadway. While in New York, she was Spalding Gray's manager and produced works for American Playhouse and HBO. In Hollywood, she ran the Film Division of Overland Entertainment and founded her own Media Development Company. Recently, in Honolulu, she was the Executive Director of the children’s theater Lisa Mastumoto’s Ohia Productions. She has been the Executive Director of Pacific Islanders in Communications since April 1, 2005.

Co-producer Heather Haunani Giugni is a passionate Hawaiian media content collector who celebrates her community through the lens of a camera. For more than 25 years, Giugni has been the guiding force behind Juniroa Productions, which has produced hundreds of short and long programs about Hawaii and its native people. Giugni also mentors, produces, directs, writes and connects the Hawaiian dots that help tell the story of Native Hawaiians, to a global audience. Since 2006, she has produced the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest’s live broadcast. She also produces the highly acclaimed Merrie Monarch Festival, broadcast locally and viewed worldwide, via the Internet. Most recently, Giugni established a digital film and video archive for the State of Hawaii. Her success can be attributed to great collaborations, including a partnership with PIC on One Voice.

For more information on One Voice, visit the following websites:

www.onevoicemovie.com
www.piccom.org
www.facebook.com/OneVoiceMovie
www.twitter.com/OneVoiceMovie
www.youtube.com/piccom1

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About Pacific Islanders in Communications:
The mission of Pacific Islanders in Communications is to support, advance, and develop Pacific Island media content and talent that results in a deeper understanding of Pacific Island history, culture, and contemporary challenges. Established in Honolulu in 1991 as a national nonprofit media arts corporation, PIC is a member of the National Minority Consortia, which collectively addresses the need for programming that reflects America’s growing ethnic and cultural diversity. Primary funding for PIC and the Consortia is provided through an annual grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Visit www.piccom.org for additional information.

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This release was published on openPR.