World Whale Film Festival

Ocean Guardians, a film by Pacific Whale Foundation created by PWF documentary filmmaker Selket Kaufman. This 20-minute film documents the journey of humpback whales as they migrate between Alaska and Hawai‘i and the efforts of Pacific Whale Foundation to save them from extinction. In the face of emerging threats, the organization employs research, education, and conservation methods as it races against time to restore and sustain the delicate balance between humankind and marine life.

Entangled, by David Abel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter that addresses ongoing efforts to protect the North American right whale from extinction (only an estimated 350 exist, making this population among the planet’s most endangered species), and the struggle to balance the interests of conservation groups and lobster-industry lobbyists.

This Mortal Plastik, a playfully crafted film by award-winning media artist and filmmaker Jess Irish, incorporates hand-drawn illustrations and poetic interludes as it crosses the world’s oceans in an attempt to understand the contemporary landscape of single-use synthetics

Healing Land, Healing People, by Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday, shot entirely on Maui and Moloka‘i at the height of the pandemic, examines the concepts and importance of kuleana (responsibility), malama (care for) and ‘aina (land) as local residents embraced the opportunity to engage in nature-based restoration projects that provided paychecks and job-skills training while reinvigorating deep and meaningful connections to nature and their own sense of purpose.