The Circuit

Alene Dawson, who covered Maui for The Circuit here, sent these photos from the Variety/Four Seasons "Taste of Chocolate" event, including this bizarre pic of this beached, chocolate-covered mermaid.

by Alene Dawson
“It’s great to be back in paradise,” said Barry Rivers, the founder and director of the Maui Film Festival that ran June 11–15 in the posh resort community of Wailea, Hi., including the Four Seasons Resort.

“Gas prices are high, airlines are shutting down and still people make it to this festival in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.” Rivers (pictured) was giving the festival’s opening remarks last Wednesday, joined by his wife Stella Rivers and the director the fest’s opening pic "Bottle Shock," Randall Miller.  "Bottle Shock" chronicles the 1976 Paris Tastings where Napa wines bested French wines and put California wines on the map.  The term paradise was no exaggeration: The evening took place at Celestial Cinema – a colossal outdoor screen with Dolby Digital sound situated on the side of a volcano/championship golf course. VIP’s like William Macy watched the films in what appeared to be the VIP golf cart section. 

Before Rivers spoke Hula dancers welcomed the relaxed crowd and right before the movie started we were treated to astronomy writer Harriet Witt who led the audience on a tour of the Hawaiian night sky. 

For the most part, the films chosen for the Maui Film Festival are basically a guide to how to be a good human being on the planet with an emphasis on the environment, Hawaiian culture, enlightenment, love and positive long–lasting change with a global purview.  And the festival walks-the-walk.  For the first time in their nearly ten year history the festival is completely solar powered. In addition to "Bottle Shock" other featured films included surf pics "Down the Barrel" and "Water Man," the Werner Herzog-directed Antarctica documentary "Encounters at the End of the World" and the world premiere of "Hawaiian Starlight" a seven-years-in-the-making documentary with breathtaking time-lapse telescopic views of the universe. "The Fall," "The Great Buck Howard," "A Man Named Pearl," "Young@Heart," "The Visitor," "Fields of Fuel" and "Phoebe in Wonderland" were other highlights.

 “We’re having a little blessing,” said Pierce Brosnan when he received the Maverick Award during an evening of tributes during a rare festival burst of rain. “Hawaii reminds me a bit of Ireland - another island - with the heat turned up,” said Brosnan. The luminaries (the fest prefers this word to celebrities) emphasized gratitude and insights from having a long career during their tribute interviews.

“Someone like Dennis Quaid and myself are people in our 50s. You have a career, you’ve built up a reputation, you want to stay at the table as long as you can and want to be able to grow,” Brosnan continued. He also emphasized sharing the wealth during the good times.

In addition, Dennis Quaid received the Galaxy Award, Felicity Hoffman got the Nova Award. and Virginia Madsen was lauded with the Navigator Award. “I’m really grateful to be here,” Madsen said. “…We had the celestial guide [at the Celestial Cinema] telling us about the stars we were looking at. It just got you in a frame of mind that all things are possible.” 

A good deal of the action at the festival was at the parties and poolside/ocean-side at the Four Seasons Resort, including the Seaside Cinema Lounge (pictured). A Maui Fest regular said, “This isn’t a marketplace festival – that’s why we love it. Things around here are more laid-back. Plus CineVegas is happening and the Los Angeles Film Festival is gearing-up back on the mainland.” 

Indeed the aloha–spirit catches people off guard the minute they disembark the plane and are seduced by the island’s narcotic floral–spicy scent that tricks your mind into relaxing even though you subconsciously know that you should have the good sense to be worrying about something. So while there are Bluetooths, Blackberries and even laptops (and personal assistants) in the mix – they’re relatively underused. No one hounded the more famous hotel guests. Instead, more attention was placed on Mai-Tais and the more primal hobbies like bikini and six-pack oggling.  Even the complimentary massages at the VIP tent didn't have many takers - most opted to take a dip in the water instead.

Photos by Alene Dawson.

Alene Dawson has written for Variety, Town & Country, Town & Country Japan, In Style.com, Marie Claire, Essence, The Nest, Chicago Magazine, Brentwood Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and several other national and local publications.

Maui film fest starts today by announcing that in their effort to be 100% carbon-neutral, all their nightly outdoor venues will be solar powered. 

Wait for it.

Actually, Robert Hofler clarifies it here:

"For the first time, SandDance will be solar-powered," Rivers promises. "People will be watching films with energy captured during the day on solar panels."

Which kills our theory that the fest was running extension cords to solar dishes in Kuwait.

Maui fest will open their big June event with “Bottle Shock,” the Californian wine tale that preemed at Sundance, and close with a Celestial Screening of the homegrown “Down the Barrel,” which follows surfer Kelly Slater’s eighth pursuit of a World Championship.

Other films screening in the Celestial Cinema program include: Werner Herzog’s “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Fall” directed by Tarsem and “The Great Buck Howard” starring John Malkovich and Colin Hanks.

They’ll also have the world premieres of “Hawaiian Starlight,” a “seven-years-in-the-making cinematic symphony shot in time-lapse using the telescopes on top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii” and the another surfing docu, “Water Man.”

Fest is also set to dole out honors to Peirce Brosnan, Virginia Madsen, Felicity Hoffman, and Dennis Quaid.