A win for da shaka at Hawaiʻi International Film Festival

“Shaka, A Story of Aloha” — a global quest to unravel the mysteries of the iconic gesture from Japan’s temples to Brazil’s waves to Hawaiʻi’s white sandy beaches — won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 Hawai‘i International Film Festival.

The 80-minute documentary delves into 110 years of shaka history, with Steve Sue’s 5-year journey with interviewee Kekela Miller to uncover its origins and meanings. Scenes feature interviews with more than 60 people. 

Sue reveals how the shaka holds the keys to both creating and preserving paradise through the construction of a “who-dunnit” bulletin board for his Aunty Kela Miller of Lā’ie, who asked him to capture her first-hand story for future generations. 

The documentary has been in production since 2019 when first-funding and cultural experts were provided by Kamehameha Schools. During production, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a 2-year hiatus, but the project continued in 2022 with epic shots, including the one-time running of an authentic Hukilau expedition that had not run in 60 years and the worldʻs first-ever Shaka Contest.

The story opens in the green room of a shaka contest, where contestants grapple with the essential question: What is the authentic way to throw a shaka?

To answer this, the film traces the shaka’s evolution across time, from its appearance in the 1997 Miss Universe contest with Brook Lee, to its use by General Kenneth Hara’s Shaka Battalion in Iraq, the Hang Loose brand in Brazil and Elvis Presley, as well as its presence in surfing, sports, journalism and entertainment.

The journey also explores how the gesture connects to sugarcane plantation workers, train jumpers, a Waikīkī used car salesman, a Honolulu Mayor and even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In examining the Shaka’s origins, the film considers various theories, including links to Shaka Zulu, Portuguese drinking traditions, Japanese Buddhism and a leprosy colony on Molokaʻi.

The final origin story tells the tale of Hamana Kalili, a legendary North Shore sugarcane worker, master fisherman and role model, who after a debilitating accident at the Kahuku Sugar Mill, became a security guard on a North Shore sugarcane train that kids including Aunty Kekela jumped by using the shaka gesture.

The narrative circles back to the shaka contest, showcasing the gesture’s diverse applications and ultimately revealing it as a symbol of aloha and the secret to sustaining paradise.

“Our original goal was to produce a 20-minute short for classroom use but the story turned out to be bigger than anyone could have imagined,” Sue said. “In the end, we discovered the shakaʻs magic and how itʻs the secret to creating and maintaining paradise.” 

In the closing credits, an epilogue introduces “Project Shaka,” a nonprofit initiative dedicated to spreading Aloha through the Shaka gesture.