‘Hawaiiana’: By woman who gave meaning to the word Tom Vendetti’s documentary on Nona Beamer to air Aug. 27 on PBS
The new documentary “Hawaiiana,” screening on PBS Hawaii at 9 p.m. Aug. 27, pays homage to revered Hawaiian treasure Aunty Nona Beamer.
Directed by Maui-based filmmaker Tom Vendetti, the documentary employs rare footage and vintage interview material to paint a moving portrait of a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to perpetuating Hawaiian culture.
Among her many accomplishments, Aunty Nona challenged repressive authorities at Kamehameha School in the 1930s, who had forbidden students from dancing hula standing, at a time when only hula noho, sit down style, was allowed. She was the first Native Hawaiian to perform kahiko hula at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall, and later in her life spearheaded the drive to uncover corruption at the Bishop Estate. And it was Aunty Nona who coined the term “Hawaiiana” in 1949, to describe the best of all things Hawaiian and the essence of aloha. All this while raising her two sons, Keola and Kapono Beamer, who became leading lights of contemporary Hawaiian music.
