HAPPY NEW YEAR!
From all of us here at ‘Ulu‘ulu to all of you – we wish you the very best in the coming New Year! Since we sent out our last “year ender” two years ago, well, we have much to share.
ʻUluʻulu is not just your typical archive. It preserves, educates and participates. The Academy for Creative Media System concluded an agreement with Disney Animation in the summer of 2017 to translate Disney’s Moana into the Hawaiian language. With ACM System’s Director Chris Lee at the helm, the work continued throughout 2018 culminating with a world premiere on the beach at the ‘Aulani, A DIsney Resort & Spa followed by screenings at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival 2018 and on the Great Lawn of the Bishop Museum. UHWO ACM partnered with ʻUluʻulu, Awaiaulu, Mele Studios at Honolulu Community College and UH Manoa’s Department of Theater and Dance among others to make this a successful effort.
In 2018, ‘Uluʻulu continued to grow with many new collections. One was the partnership with Bishop Museum, holder of one of the largest film collections in the state. The transfer will take a few years as staff from both institutions work carefully to prepare the thousands of film reels for the move from Kalihi to Kapolei. Within the collection is a small number of nitrate films from the early 1900s. Cellulose nitrate based films were produced in the early 20th century until 1952 and are combustible under certain temperatures and so are a priority for preservation. While attending the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Conference in November of 2019, Assistant Archivist for Processing Hōkū Kaʻahaʻaina completed the Nitrate Shipping and Packing Workshop and is now the only certified technician in the state that can safely pack and ship these films.
2019 was also a very special year. It marked our ten year anniversary since our first grant award was received to create ‘Uluʻulu. We celebrated with a fabulous “fun-raiser” on the Great Lawn of the Bishop Museum where we honored collection donors and supporters. Hawaii News Now’s Rick Blangiardi was the Event Chair and ‘Iolani Palace Executive Director Paula Akana was our Emcee. We are grateful for the support of so many including the Hawaiʻi State Legislature who helped to make this incredible educational facility possible.
In terms of special collections in 2019, we were honored to become the official caretakers of the Merrie Monarch Festival video content. We were also the recipient of the cinematic legacy of George Tahara, a prolific filmmaker who directed from the 1930s through the 1970s. His special interest was Hawaiian legends but in his lifetime he produced many projects from his days with the U.S. military producing war bond films during World War II, to educational documentaries that a generation of students watched in Hawai‘i classrooms.
We ended the year with a HIFF 2019 screening of newly transferred 16mm footage about the making of the tapestries which hang on the walls of the Senate and House chambers in the State Capitol.
All of this and more can be found on our website! Be sure to check it out!
We’d like to take a moment to share some of our accomplishments from 2018 and 2019 with you. Click here to view the ‘Ulu‘ulu 2019 Annual Newsletter report on our new collections, digital preservation projects, television and film premieres and more!
Mahalo nui loa for your support!
ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi 