Louis Vuitton Hawaii International FIlm Festival 2008

Brutus is a fictionalized retelling of facts about the environmental degradation of Mindoro: two kids are paid by illegal loggers to smuggle wood to the lowlands. They hide them underneath a bamboo raft and float them for several days through dangerous white water. What follows is a journey that tests their friendship and their values; and opens up their eyes to a world new to them; a world dictated by ideologies and material need. Ultimately they find themselves caught in the conflict between the Military and Rebels. Brutus is an adventure film that has a lot to say about vanishing culture threatened by man's abuses. It explores the struggle of a people who aspire to live well, with dignity and in harmony with nature.

The cost of having 10 liters of safe drinking water every day per person is just $2. Yet there are billions around the world who don't have access to it. FLOW, the award-winning documentary by Irena Salina, looks into the escalating world water crisis. Water is being privatized in countries, leaving the poorer people without access to clean water and more susceptible to disease. Hundred thousands of people are displaced by dams being built, while being falsely promised land elsewhere and much more. Companies are pumping water out of areas around the United States to bottle for sales, turning streams into mudflats and causing water levels to drop. FLOW visits Africa, Bolivia, India, Canada, France and the United States, and looks into the question, "Can anyone really own water?" And also, do you really know what's in your drinking bottle? -- Rachel Manuel

JAMAICA FOR SALE is a documentary countering the received view that tourism is the savior of the Jamaican people. Lively, hard hitting, with powerful voices, arresting visuals and iconic music, JAMAICA FOR SALE documents the environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts of tourism. The Caribbean is the region most economically dependent on tourism. Jamaica is the 4th most indebted country in the world. Massive hotels and luxury condominium developments are under construction. At this very moment Jamaica is being irreversibly transformed. JAMAICA FOR SALE is both documenting this transformation and trying to turn the tide.

"Living Pono" follows internationally acclaimed film and stage actor Jason Scott Lee on his intentional journey from mega movie stardom to living sustainably on his off-the-grid taro farm, 4,000 feet up the slopes of Maunaloa on the Big Island of Hawaii. An intimate portrait of one of Hawaii's most beloved celebrities, the story encompasses the universal issues Jason is confronting: materialism and alienation in western society, environmental stewardship, preservation of indigenous culture, and living pono -- with the traditional values of righteousness and respect for ancestors, neighbors, and the sacred land. Note: This film is currently a "Work in Progress", and not totally finished yet.