A documentary featuring University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu’s Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer and Indrajit Gunasekara and their work with the NiU NOW! movement has recently won awards at the Jackson Wild Summit in Austria and the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF).
The 15-minute short film, “Kumu Niu,” which showcases the significance of the coconut, or niu, earned a Jackson Wild Media Award in the category, Human Planet — Short Form, in late September. The Jackson Wild Media Awards are considered the highest bar of achievement in natural history filmmaking, according to its website.
Also, last month, the film received HIFF’s Deep Blue Environmental Shorts Award. In addition, the film was selected to be featured on Hawaiian Airlines’ in-flight programming from December 2022 through March 2023 as part of a partnership between HIFF and the airlines.
“I am overjoyed at the reception of ‘Kumu Niu,’ especially at HIFF on O‘ahu, the home of the NiU NOW! movement,” said Alex Cantatore, director of “Kumu Niu.” “The film is a celebration of their crucial work for food sovereignty and it means the world to me to see those efforts elevated in such a powerful way.”
According to a description of the film posted on the HIFF website: “The island of O‘ahu is covered with coconut palms, but for fear of liability, the vast majority of these sacred trees have been stripped of coconuts. The grassroots movement, NiU NOW!, is on a mission to restore the niu.”
Cantatore of QuickActCasual Productions directed the documentary for the National Association of State Foresters (NASF) as part of its “Tree Stories” series, a collection of short films that illustrates the importance of the different — but equally valuable — bonds that people enjoy with trees.
“This lovingly created documentary is connected to our friendship with Dr. Heather McMillen of Hawai‘i’s Urban Forestry Program,” noted Meyer, Konohiki of Kūlana o Kapolei.
Meyer continued: “Director Alex Cantatore was inspired to bring forth this controversial subject because it is part of a larger world story of cultural resilience and Indigenous acumen dedicated to loving land and serving people. It’s time to pay attention.”
The NASF further summarized the film on its YouTube channel: “Throughout the tropical world, there are movements like NiU NOW! (featured in this film) working to connect people to their histories, their communities, and the land through trees. The niu, or coconut tree, was brought to Hawai‘i as a food source by Polynesian explorers over 1,000 years ago; and though O‘ahu is still home to many thousands of coconut palms, very few of them are allowed to bear fruit for fear the nuts could fall and injure people.”
“Kumu Niu” follows Meyer and Gunasekara as they prepare with their community to plant a new grove of niu and ‘ulu (breadfruit) on the UH West O‘ahu campus.
The NASF description continues: “A day in the making for several years, this planting event is both a practical and symbolic step on their journey to restore the knowledge of the Pacific’s ‘Tree of Life,’ and to spread the Indigenous wisdom of ‘aloha ‘āina — loving land and serving people.”
Gunasekara, who is a financial aid officer at UH West O‘ahu, added, “We had an opportunity to tell a small portion of a story of our tree of life, the coconut tree, that continues to inspire us in this ancient Indigenous relationship that stretches back beyond millennials, as well as guides us into the future during a time when we are greatly challenged with the issues of food security and the change of climate.”
Since its release in April 2022, “Kumu Niu” has been screened at various other film festivals, including San Diego ShortsFest, Awareness Film Festival, BendFilm Festival, and Red Nation International Film Festival.
Watch “Kumu Niu” here: