‘Ohana & ‘Āina
Documentary | 2021
Director | Writer | Impact Producer
Working on this story was completely inspiring. I feel so lucky to have been able to collaborate with Jade Onaka to help bring her vision to life. We set out with the intention to co-create a video that explored the topics she was passionate about: food sovereignty and Indigenous agriculture in her home of Hawai‘i.
This project is the culmination of so much thoughtful work on her part as well as caring partnerships on the part of family and community members across the islands.
I've learned an incredible amount on this journey about the history of Hawai‘i and what it means to work and create alongside youth. I hope watching this video sparks in you a desire to reconnect to your roots and your place, wherever that might be.
Listen to Jade and Joel talk about the process of making “‘Ohana & ‘Āina” at SXSW EDU 2023
In this panel discussion, titled A Framework for Youth-Adult Co-Creation, I facilitated a conversation about the best practices and processes for adults to work with youth using our film as an example. Jade and I were joined by Rosie Molina and Malliron Hodge from The Reinvention Lab at Teach For America who shared about the Framework that they developed and offered advice to educators on how they might best put it to use.