When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and around the world dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiian families, Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions.
SYNOPSIS
Standing Above the Clouds highlights the movement to protect Mauna Kea through the intergenerational stories of women in three Native Hawaiian families as they stand for the sacred mountain. The film follows teacher and community organizer Pua Case and her two daughters — artist-activists Hāwane Rios and Kapulei Flores — who have been called to stop the telescope since 2010. Their lives quickly become consumed with frontline actions and court proceedings and immersed in ceremonies and cultural practices. As they face opposition and arrests, they are joined by a community who have dedicated their lives to protecting Mauna Kea.
The film is an intimate journey through the women’s lives both on and off the mountain, and explores the physical and emotional toll of sustaining a grassroots movement. After nine months of living on the mountain, blocking construction, and establishing a frontline camp, Standing Above The Clouds shows their journey to heal once they return to their homes in March 2020. In the face of challenges and tragedy, the mountain gifts each woman with hope and strength and the understanding that victory is in standing in unity for sacred places and that healing occurs through the sisterhood they have created along the way.
Director Statement
Standing Above the Clouds was created through a collaborative process with our film protagonists. Through making this film, our team aimed to re-imagine the documentary form to be a healing process that returned agency to the community featured in our film through a trauma informed practice of affirmative consent. We worked closely with our onscreen collaborators at every step of the process and have taken great care to mitigate any legal, emotional, or cultural harm that releasing a film might cause. It is our team's great privilege and honor to have been invited into the Mauna Kea protector community and into the lives and homes of the families you see in our film.
Supporter Statement
"My personal goal is that women who stand as protectors around the world will be able to identify themselves to some degree through the experiences shared in Standing Above the Clouds and that the film offers them encouragement, and inspiration and the circles by which to collectively support one another." - Pua Case, Activist, Educator, Kumu Hula, Film Protagonist
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director, Cinematographer, Producer Jalena Keane-Lee
Jalena Keane-Lee (Director, Cinematographer, Producer) is a filmmaker who explores intergenerational trauma and healing through an intersectional lens. She was named a 2023 Adobe x Sundance Woman to Watch, and is the recipient of the Gotham Documentary Fellowship, Creative Culture woman filmmaker fellowship, Wyncote Fellowship and NeXt Doc Fellowship. Jalena is the winner of Tribeca Through Her Lens 2020 and DocPitch 2022. Her short films have streamed on POV and Criterion Collection, played at over 50 film festivals, and won best short at LA Asian Film Festival in 2020 and the Jury Award at Sundance in 2023. Jalena co-founded Breaktide Productions, an all-women-of-color production company that has won two Cannes Lion awards for branded content. Jalena is currently working on her first feature-length documentary which participated in the 2022 Sundance Edit and Story Lab.
Producer Erin Lau
Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau (Producer) has dedicated her life to creating empathy-forward stories for her community. Her work stretches across mediums — ranging from documentaries to branded content and scripted films. After completing her Bachelors at the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Erin went on to receive her MFA in directing from Chapman University. Since graduating, Erin has signed with the United Talent Agency (UTA) and continued her growth with the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, Nia Tero, Points North Institute, Tribeca Studios, NBC, MTV, and more. Over the past decade, her projects have screened across the world in over 50 film festivals, while her work for Jubilee Media has accumulated over 130 million online views.
Producer
Amber Espinosa-Jones
Amber Espinosa-Jones (Producer) is a creative producer and DEIA strategist from Oakland, CA. She is a 2024 ArtEquity BIPOC Leader, 2022 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader, and recently produced the feature film STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS following Native-Hawaiian mother daughter activists executive produced by Multitude Films. Amber currently serves as Senior Manager of Artist + Audience Impact at Sundance Institute overseeing strategy and granting programs for marginalized artists and audiences. With a diverse background in theatre and film, Amber is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Dramatic Arts and Media Arts + Practice programs with an interest in social change and collaborative community building.
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Women Make Movies (WMM), Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization registered with the New York Charities Bureau of New York State and accepts charitable donations on behalf of this project. Your donation will be spent by the filmmaker(s) toward the production and completion of this media project. No services or goods are provided by Women Make Movies, the filmmaker(s) or anyone else associated with this project in exchange for your charitable donation.
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