Behind the Scenes: 'Standing Above the Clouds'

Director Jalena Keane-Lee gives us an inside look at her film "Standing Above The Clouds."

"Standing Above the Clouds" is a short documentary that follows Native Hawaiian mother-daughter activists as they stand to protect their sacred mountain from the building of the world’s largest telescope. The film follows each of the women through a crucial journey of self and collective empowerment, facing the complexities of raising their daughters and families while putting their bodies on the line to protect their revered and divine mountain, Mauna Kea.

I was called to the Mauna in 2017 after seeing the protectors on the news in their 2015 stand on the mauna. I was struck by Aunty Pua and her daughter Hāwane, and how rare it felt to have women speaking for a movement. Upon further research I learned about Aunty Pua’s younger daughter Kapulei and the story of her vision at nine years old that got the family involved in the movement.

In the summer of 2017, I lived with my Aunty in Kapa’au and was first introduced to Aunty Pua through family connections. My intention was to make a documentary about mother-daughter activists, and as my collaboration with Aunty Pua grew, the story expanded to include three families that all had three generations of women in the movement. Pua, Mehana, and Leina’ala all stood on the frontline blocking construction trucks at the summit of Mauna Kea in 2015, who were petitioners on the second contested case that went all the way to the Hawai’i Supreme Court, and who continue to support the Mauna through recent developments.

In 2018 producer Amber Espinosa-Jones joined the team and helped secure the Pacific Islanders in Communications Digital Shorts grant. The team expanded further to include Editor Diana Diroy, Assistant Camera and Assistant Editor Davyana San Miguel, and Composer Micah Garrido. Amber, myself and Reaa Puri, an additional cinematographer, went out to Hawai’i and worked with the protectors. That summer we learned through their stories about what it was like getting arrested in the 2015 stand, how difficult it was to testify in the contested case hearings, and how much the mauna had made them each stronger and braver than they knew they could be.

In October 2018, the TMT won a reaffirmation of its right to build and construction could begin any day. Right before the summer of 2019 - the film was almost complete. It was edited by me through the Jacob Burns Film Fellowship that supports emerging filmmakers in creating short films. There was a screening and everyone pushed me to release the film because they thought it was finished. I wanted to film more with Mehana’s family and something just didn’t feel complete.

We decided to use our funding from PIC to go on one last pickup shoot and work with Diana to create a new edit. Mehana announced that she was pregnant with a baby girl. I thought that must have been the piece of the film that was missing all along. Tali, her 16-year-old daughter, was excited to be a big sister and the whole family was committed to raising another mana wahine.

A few weeks before our planned production trip, the TMT attempted to break ground again. The protectors blocked the road resulting in the arrest of 33 kupuna or elders and eventual retreat of the police. I went out right away and our team was on the Mauna for three weeks in the summer of 2019 living in tents, going to ceremony, taking classes, and of course filming. We realized this had been the real missing piece. When I filmed and directed Hāwaneʻs music video "Mana Wahine," a new part of the film fell into place.

I remember when I was first editing the short, there were sign waving scenes where there were 10 dedicated people out there waving their signs. It was hard for audiences to understand the scale and significance of the movement. I’ll never forget the day we shot the last scene in the film - with the line of mana wahine - and as the drone flies up you can see just how many women are behind them, supporting them and holding the line. I remember seeing that shot and crying. It was such a hectic day with over 7,000 people on the mauna and it was blisteringly hot. It was the day of Jam 4 Mauna Kea where people around the world were joining in prayer to safeguard the mountain.

We had been running around all day and we weren't sure if we were going to be able to get this shot of all the women we had envisioned. But it all came together. It was so beautiful and deeply moving to see all of those women. It's so beautiful to have gotten to see the movement at 10 people, and at 7,000. I feel so lucky to get to laugh, cry, sign, and pray with the women in our film. Being on the mauna in the summer was such a special experience.

We premiered the film at the Hawai’i International Film Festival in November 2019 as part of a special showcase of Mauna Kea films from a Kia’i perspective. That showcase was so moving. At our premiere Dr. Ilima Long moderated the panel talkback and brought forth a framework to view the films, stating that the Kiaʻi are enacting physical intervention by blocking the telescopes, and we the filmmakers were creating narrative intervention that challenges colonial ideas about leadership and power.

That same month we were also selected to participate in the first annual Good Pitch Local: Hawai’i to pitch create partnerships for the impact campaign and look for funding for our feature film which will be an expansion of the short following the Protect Mauna Kea movement until a decision is made about the telescope. We are currently in early to mid-production on that feature. 

Unfortunately much of our short festival run was canceled or moved online due to COVID-19 but we're grateful for any opportunity to share the film and connect viewers to the Mauna Kea Movement and the families in our film. 

If you'd like to organize a screening or event please reach out to Standing Above the Clouds or on Instagram.

- Jalena Keane-Lee