Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege

Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2005) is a documentary film directed by Puhipau, Joan Lander.

Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.

Cast

Puhipau

Narrator (voice)

Manu Aluli Meyer

Herself - Philosopher of Education

Keawe Vredenburg

Himself

Sam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a Gon

Himself - Conservation Biologist

Kealoha Pisciotta

Herself - Mauna Kea Anaina Hou

Nelson Ho

Himself - Sierra Club

Paul Neves

Himself - Royal Order of Kamehameha

Hanalei Fergerstrom

Himself

Reynolds Kamakawiwo'ole

Himself

Kahu o Terangi

Himself

Pualani Kanahele

Herself - Kumu Hula

Steve Hess

Himself - USGS Biological Resources