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POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 16, 20140

COURTESY HULA PRESERVATION SOCIETYFrom left, dancers Mealii Boyd, Iwalani Carino, LeialohaKaleikini and Ehulani Enoka in the late 1950s at theHawaiian Room in the Hotel Lexington.

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Hula hui solicits funds for documentaryBy Nina Wu

The Hula Preservation Society has launched aKickstarter campaign to raise the remaining$20,000 needed to finish "The Hawaiian Room," adocumentary film about the dancers and musicianswho graced the popular entertainment venue inManhattan.

The online fundraising campaign started Saturdayand ends Feb. 20.

The Hawaiian Room was a glamorous showroomat the Hotel Lexington in New York that opened in1937. During its 30-year run, it spotlightedHawaiian musicians and hula dancers.

Since 2011 the hula society has been conductingoral histories with the singers and dancers from theHawaiian Room, building an archive of photos fromtheir personal collections.

Independent filmmaker Ann Marie Kirk was thevideographer for the project and became inspiredto turn a 10-minute video into a full-length

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documentary.

As she filmed the interviews, Kirk said, sherealized there was more to be told on a largerscale, particularly while the kupuna, who are wellinto their 70s and 80s, are still here to share theirmemories.

"When they share their story, it's an enormous giftto all of us because it allows us to experience whatthey experienced," she said. "The story couldeasily be lost in another 10 to 20 years."

The first cut of the film debuted at the 'Oiwi Film Festival in November 2012 to a sold-out audience.

Funds are primarily needed to purchase rights to the footage of the dancers from commercial stockhouses, according to hula society director Maile Loo. Ultimately, the goal is to offer the film on DVD andBlu-ray.

"When you see the fluid, moving image of the hula, you'll understand why these women were socelebrated," Kirk said.

For a pledge of $25 or more, Kickstarter backers will receive a 5-by-7-inch photo from the HawaiianRoom archives; a pledge of $100 or more results in two copies of the finished documentary DVDsigned by former Hawaiian Room performers and Kirk, along with an 8-by-10-inch photo.

For a minimum $2,500 pledge, donors will get a private hula lesson from the Hawaiian Room dancerson Oahu.

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On the Net:

» To donate, use the link goo.gl/RoGiBO or visit kickstarter.com and search for "Hawaiian Room."

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Hula hui solicits funds for documentary - Hawaii News - Honol... http://www.staradvertiser.com/featurespremium/20140116__Hu...

2 of 4 5/19/14 1:35 AM

manakuke wrote:

on January 16,2014 | 01:27AM

Roots of modern Hawaiian entertainment.

hanalei395 wrote:

on January 16,2014 | 04:58AM

Helping to popularize the ukulele and the Hawaiian steel guitar.

hanalei395 wrote:

on January 16,2014 | 10:38AM

Correction: ... THAT HELPED to popularize the ukulele and the Hawaiian steel guitar.

yellowginger wrote:

on January 16,2014 | 05:59AM

Awesome! I had the pleasure of talking with one of the dancers and she told me of how she met herhusband in NY. Such a nice piece of history. Imua!

haukea wrote:

on January 16,2014 | 09:48AM

Best wishes for a successful production, Ann Marie and Maile! Important (and probably surprising) history tobe revealed.

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