HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Hawaii filmmaker is chronicling the loss of her family’s multigenerational home in last year’s devastating Lahaina fires and is hoping to make the community’s voice heard with a new documentary.
Laurel Tamayo is the director and filmmaker of Healing Lahaina. She joined HNN’s The Debrief to talk about her film and why she felt it was important to tell this story.
Special section: Forest fires on Maui
“We really wanted this story to have an impact and make a difference,” Tamayo said.
“When I lived on the mainland, I could see that people had already forgotten about Lahaina. Of course, there is so much going on in the world, but I really wanted this film to come out this year so we can remind people that the road to recovery is going to be a long one.”
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:
Although Tamayo grew up on Oahu, her parents are originally from Maui, and she often spent her summers and holidays with her family on Valley Isle.
When fires raged through the town of Lahaina on August 8, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake, the Tamayo family home was one of thousands of buildings destroyed by the flames.
The house has been in the family for decades and was built from scratch by three generations of the Tamayo family.
If you asked grandparents, aunts and cousins where they lived, they would simply say: “That’s the yellow house!” – which was always easy to spot from the street.
The fire destroyed not only the house, but also photographs and memorabilia that the family had collected over the years.
“When I saw how painful it was for my family to go through this, my attitude was: I don’t want any other family to have to go through this,” Tamayo said.
“Perhaps this film could show people the real dangers of climate change and that it is becoming more common. It could motivate them to take action and also learn disaster preparedness skills, which is a form of climate resilience.”
Tamayo explained that her film follows three pillars: supporting survivors of the Lahaina wildfires, reducing the stigma of mental illness, and building global climate resilience.
Together with their team, consisting of people born and raised on Maui or currently living on the island, they set about the important but difficult task of telling this story.
“In the film, we see how different people helped Lahaina, whether by staying in their neighborhood to save their neighbors’ homes or by organizing centers for survivors,” Tamayo said.
“With this film I’m trying to help the community. It’s my love letter to Lahaina.”
The film will be screened at film festivals as it is completed. A trailer for the film was released in early August.
To learn more about the film, click here or follow her journey at @HealingLahainaFilm on Instagram.
You can also listen to the full interview below or wherever you get your podcasts.
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