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 Pios and Kapulei Flores – who have been called to stop the telescope since 2010. Their lives quickly become consumed with front line actions and court proceedings, while 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 and establishing a front line 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 lies in standing in unity for sacred places and that healing occurs through the sisterhood they have created along the way.
Standing Above the Clouds
- Jalena Keane-Lee
- United States
- 2023
- 82 mins
- Pre-recorded interview with Jalena Keane-Lee and Pua Case
- Captioned
- Suicide
- Tone: Inspiring
- Fri Jan 24
- 2:15 PM
- Market Hall
- Virtual / Hybrid Available
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.
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- English, Hawaiian
- Captioned
- Inspiring
- Suicide
About the Filmmaker
- https://www.standingabovetheclouds.com/
- https://facebook.com/standingabovetheclouds
- @standingabovetheclouds
- Filmmaker: Jalena Keane-Lee
- Producer: Amber Espinosa-Jones, Erin Lau, Jalena Keane-Lee
- Other Credits: Executive Producer: Jess Devaney, Anya Rous; Editor: Diana Diroy
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 women 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.