Hawaii — Family, Fire, and Laulau (2021)

In June 2021, I traveled to Hawai‘i to produce, direct, and conduct interviews for a short-form documentary exploring the deep relationship between food, memory, and Indigenous heritage.

Our protagonist was Koa, a middle-aged Polynesian man. In the backyard of a local household, around an earth oven built by hand, Koa and his extended family prepared a traditional feast—including laulau (meat wrapped in taro leaves) and a whole pig cooked in the old way.

The shoot captured more than just the culinary process—it uncovered the emotional and cultural weight food carries. Through Koa’s calm yet powerful storytelling, we witnessed how food holds family together, preserves ancestral knowledge, and gives voice to memory through taste and ritual.