Mele Murals at Univ. of Minnesota - Oct. 25

Going to Minnesnowta for the first time to screen Mele Murals at the Univ. of Minnesota! 

Wednesday, October 25, 2017 at 7:30p

Rapson Hall, Room 100 

UMN East Bank Campus
89 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 65455

Mele Murals at CSU Fullerton - Oct. 23

I'll be headed to CSU Fullerton to screen Mele Murals on 10/23. 

Monday, October 23, 2017 from 10a - 12noon
Titan Student Union Theater
800 N State College Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831

Link to Facebook Event Page

Mele Murals at UH Hilo - Oct. 18

Mele Murals will be screening at UH Hilo as part of Pacific Islanders in Communications' Deep Waters series.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017 from 5-7p
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Lumipahiahia
Hilo, HI 96720

Film screening will be followed by a panel talk with Prime, Kanoa Castro, community members, and students.

Mele Murals Streaming on Al Jazeera!

Mele Murals (Al Jazeera recut)  is now streaming for free on Al Jazeera!

WATCH HERE

Mele Murals streaming on PBS in May!

Mele Murals is streaming for free on PBS during the month of May!
Watch HERE!

Mele Murals at Arizona State University - April 11

I'll be presenting Mele Murals at Arizona State University on April 11th.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at 3:00p
ASU Memorial Union - Pima Auditorium
301 E Orange St
Tempe, AZ 85287

Facebook Event Page

Mele Murals at Northwestern - April 6

I'll be presenting Mele Murals at Northwestern on April 6th.

Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 5:00p
Kresge Hall - Room 1515 (The Forum)
1880 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208

FREE and open to the public!

More information HERE

Mele Murals at Columbia College Chicago - April 6

I'll be presenting Mele Murals at Columbia College Chicago on April 6th.

Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 12:30p

Hokin Hall - 1st floor

623 S. Wabash

Chicago, IL 60605

More information HERE

Facebook Event Page

Mele Murals at DePaul University - April 5

I'll be presenting Mele Murals at DePaul University on April 5th.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 6:00p
DePaul University Richardson Library
2350 N. Kenmore Room #115Chicago, IL 60614

More information HERE

Mele Murals at Purdue - April 4

I'll be presenting Mele Murals at Purdue University on April 4th.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 6:00p

Beering Hall 1245

100 N University St.

West Lafayette, IN 47907

More information HERE
Facebook Event Page

Mele Murals Los Angeles Premiere Featuring Paula Fuga!

I'm extremely excited to announce the LA Premiere of MELE MURALS on Friday, August 5, 2015 at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo.

There will be many special guests including Paula Fuga, one of my favorite vocalist from Hawai'i:


Prime and Estria - the artists featured in the film, and the filmmaking team from ʻŌiwi TV will be in attendance for Q&A following the screening.

Friday, August 5, 2016 at 6:30p
Japanese American Cultural and Community Center

244 S San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

6:30p - VIP Garden Concert with Paula Fuga (VIP ticket holders only)

8:00p - Film Screening

9:30p - Q&A with filmmakers and featured artists Estria and Prime

Purchase tickets HERE
$40 VIP, $20 General

Special $15/ticket for groups of 10+.

Mele Murals in Colorlines Magazine

Mele Murals Kickstarter campaign got mentioned in Colorlines!

NBC News Article on Mele Murals

Read about Mele Murals in NBC News!

Topless Kickstarter Video!

We are more than halfway through the Mele Murals Kickstarter campaign and doing whatever it takes to reach our goal! Please help push us over the top! Check out this fun video we shot the day of our World Premiere in March:

Mele Murals - Festival Premiere Night from Oiwi TV on Vimeo.

Shouts out to Mele Murals DP Justyn Ah Chong for conceptualizing and creating this video!

Please back Mele Murals on Kickstarter

I've never launched a Kickstarter campaign until now. We really need your help to get our film Mele Murals across the finish line and more importantly to share the film with the world! Please donate if you can and share: http://kck.st/1NBAlK2  Thanks in advance!



As many of you know, it is extremely difficult and to find funding for community-based documentaries, especially for projects coming from WITHIN the Native Hawaiian community. This is the first time I've ever asked my friends to donate money but it's only because I feel so strongly about sharing the strength and beauty of this story.

Mele Murals World Premiere

Cinematographer Justyn Ah Chong, me, Executive Producer Keoni Lee, Associate Producer Aina Paikai

We did it! The sold-out World Premiere of Mele Murals at the Oakland Museum of California was exactly what we had envisioned! We were privileged to have our premiere at CAAMFest which has been supporting my work since my first film.

A huge thank you to everyone who came out. The strength of our communities were on full display that night and left me grateful and inspired. The event started with live paintings by Prime and Estria - the artists featured in the film - and ended with performances by Bambu, Geo and Sabzi.

The premiere was part of Friday Nights @ OMCA featuring Off The Grid food trucks.

Prime and Estria (the artists featured in the film) doing what they do best.

Me and the rents!

Cast and crew.

Prometheus Brown and Bambu performed at The Bar after the screening.

Impromptu Blue Scholars set! Sabzi produced the score for Mele Murals.

The Mele Murals 'Ohana in San Francisco's Japantown after the second sold-out screening.

Mele Murals Trailer!

#ProtectMaunaKea

Last year I had the great opportunity of filming in Waimea on the Big Island of Hawai'i. There I got to witness the true meaning of Aloha ʻĀina in action as the people and land continuosly protect and provide for each other. Many of the friends I made during that trip are now engaged in a battle to protect their Mauna Kea. All week people have been protesting the start of construction for the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the peak of Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is one of the most sacred places for the Hawaiian people and this telescope will further its desecration.

This footage is from an upcoming documentary on artists Estria Miyashiro and John "Prime" Hina and their Mele Murals project. Uncle Kalani Flores and Auntie Pua Case explain the sacredness and importance of Mauna Kea to a group of students from Kanu o ka 'Āina Learning ʻOhana (KALO) and the Mele Murals staff.

Editor: Tadashi Nakamura
Camera: Justyn Ah Chong & ʻĀina Paikai
Music: Misty Mountain by Humble Soul

JANM screening of Life on Four Strings with Jake

Photo by J.K. Yamamoto/Rafu Shimpo

The Japanese American National Museum, Angry Asian Man, First Pond Ent. and Visual Communications hosted a fun screening of Life on Four Strings. This was the first time Jake and I did a public Q&A session in LA and as expected, it got a little goofy. It had been a while since we talked about the film so we shared a lot of funny behind-the-scene stories. You can read a very detailed write-up about the event in the Rafu Shimpo.

Jake treated the crowd to an intimate performance.

My first (and best) Xmas gift! The Mike & Mike aloha shirt 
that they made for Jake when he was on their show.

PBS Hawa'i Broadcast Premiere on March 12th

Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings will have it's exclusive Hawai'i broadcast premiere on Tuesday, March 12th at 8:00p.  PBS Hawai'i gets to air the film two months before the national broadcast (on May 10th, but please tune-in then also).   So many people in Hawai'i contributed their time and talent to this film and I'm happy that they can be the first to share it with their family, friends and neighbors.  For me, the best outcome of this project is the relationships I built with local artists and community members during the two and a half years of production.