The crowds may roar at Monte Carlo’s Grand Prix and cheer at Boston’s Marathon, but moviegoers quietly delight each year in the heady tranquility of the Maui Film Festival, an adventure in film unlike any other on the planet. Here at the upscale Hawaiian enclave of Wailea, the stars have been coming out since the turn of the millennium to share unparalleled al fresco cinema amidst sumptuous feasts, paradisiacal parties and tropical Island living.
Conceived and produced by Barry and Stella Rivers beginning in the late 1990s, the Maui Film Festival is a showcase for dozens of summer releases from the big and small studios and independent filmmakers. Barry recalls that it all began with “a half-dozen cocktail napkins, a sharp pencil and a few too many Mai Tais around the pool!” Since its debut in 2000, the event has drawn about 175,000 spectators who have been treated to what he calls “A five-day, five-venue, under-the-stars 'cinematic cirque-du-soleil.’”
This year, the lei’d-back fun unfolds from June 11 to 15 with screenings held at under-the-stars venues ranked among the world’s best open-air venues. According to Christian Gaines, director of festivals for the American Film Institute, "Beyond the sheer perfection of the location, the Maui Film Festival quite probably boasts the most spectacular outdoor screening venue on Earth - The Celestial Cinema, which features a 50-foot wide viewing experience featuring crisp 35mm projection and Dolby Digital sound, making this quite literally a filmgoing event remembered for a lifetime."
A must-see for locals and mainlanders alike, the Celestial Cinema makes its rounds on the fairways of the Wailea Gold and Emerald Golf Course combining the atmosphere of a chic Hollywood film premiere with that of a vintage drive-in movie - minus the cars. Before the show, families lay claim to prime viewing spots with blankets and lawn chairs, while kids run around in pajamas. Adults mingle over refreshments and an astronomer points out celestial formations in the sky, negating the need for a planetarium.
As deep darkness settles in and the projector starts to roll, there’s an eerie hush of anticipation shared among the audience. The giant screen projections draw people in while the sound system seals the deal. With perfect temperature and humidity the only distractions are the charming chirps of crickets and the occasional shooting star.
Is there a better place to watch “The Windsurfing Movie” or “Shadow of the Moon?” The experience is so utterly immersive once the end credits start to scroll it’s a challenge to reenter reality, gather blankets and chairs and navigate off the golf course.
While this cinematic centerpiece draws the biggest audience – about 3,000 per double feature - there is much more to the Maui Film Festival than meets the skies (so to speak). Complementing the screening of some 45 –50 films is a mouth-watering menu of culinary events at wonderful Wailea venues. The Opening Night Twilight Reception at the Fairmont Kea Lani 
combines glorious sunset views and live music with exotic food stations and free-flowing libations. For laughs there’s the Cosmic Comedy Club at Mulligan’s on the Blue and The Starry Night MoonDance at Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café is a perfect late night rendezvous for post movie dissection.
Then there is the mouthwatering Taste of Chocolate soirée, so richly pioneered by the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Celebrating all things chocolate from cakes and cookies to fountains, flans, mousses and martinis, in 2007 this prime resort raised the (chocolate) bar even higher when they rolled out a chocolate-bikini clad model, welcoming guests to the party with unprecedented taste.
Rounding out the list of culinary musts is Taste of Wailea, a late-afternoon treat served up atop Molokini Look-out at the Wailea Gold and Emerald Golf Course. Here the best restaurants on Maui vie for palates while spectacular views of the sinking sun compete for attention. The grassy venue is fringed with innocent looking white tents offering one decadent treat after another. Mix in a dazzling array of wines and spirits and you have the ingredients for a breathtaking, tour de force, wine and food festival. It’s almost enough to make visitors forget this is actually just a part of a film festival.
Fortunately there are many more ways to indulge in films and enjoy their creators. In addition to the Celestial Cinema there are two other open-air cinemas, the Maui SkyDome, situated atop the Wailea Marriott overlooking the Pacific; and the beach-side SandDance Theatre, where Silent Film Classics blend seamlessly with the rhythm of breaking waves. With so many films in just five days, the festival extends into nearby Kahului, where the Castle and McCoy theatres of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center help shoulder the line-up.
Adding depth to the dozens of screenings are workshops and panels where filmmakers and film watchers can connect and share perspectives on the art and soul of moviemaking. As Barry Rivers puts it, “The Maui Film Festival is built on the belief that great filmmaking is pure alchemy. When filmmakers choose to tell compassionate, life-affirming stories they can turn darkness into light. It is this belief in the power of creativity to enlighten, as well as entertain that is the guiding principle that gives the Maui Film Festival its character, its energy and its soul.”
That sense of purpose runs deep throughout the festival and among the hundreds of staff and volunteers. It also resonates with stars who are drawn to Maui for the event, a point of which Rivers is especially proud and acknowledges with a special award ceremony. “We honor A-List film industry talent each June for their status, not just as celebrities but as what we call ‘luminaries’ -- people whose work emits as much light as heat and whose work ethic and creative choices set them apart from the flavor-of-the-day stars.”
That list of luminaries and attendees has so far included: Claire Danes, William Hurt, Joan Allen, Angela Bassett, Jessica Biel, Adrien Brody, Tim Burton, Geena Davis, Clint Eastwood, Jake Gyllenhaal, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, Mike Myers, Rob Reiner and Owen & Luke Wilson.
Replete with films, fun, and entire constellations of stars -- and playing out in unmatchable Hawaiian style -- the Maui Film Festival ranks among the world’s top annual events. It is sure to keep drawing crowds of delighted moviegoers while generating its own luminosity.
Maui Film Festival Development Office
P.O. Box 790669 (16 Baldwin Avenue)
Paia, HI 96779
Phone: 808.579.9996 Fax: 808.579.9552
Development@MauiFilmFestival.com
http://www.mauifilmfestival.com
Extra quotes and info:
What makes this film festival unique?
“It's bedrock commitment to a programming philosophy that features the presentation of compassionate vision and life-affirming and transformative storytelling from every possible source—major studios, mini-majors, independent distributors and projects lacking distribution by veteran and first-time filmmakers—regardless of budget but all possessing character, wisdom and humanity.” – Barry Rivers
“The new nomadic incarnation of the Starlight Cinema, both of which use the identical Dolby Sound Surround Systems as the Maui Film Festival's ’crown jewel‘ Celestial Cinema venue, continue to raise the bar and are now also among the preeminent under-the-stars venues on the planet. Every other festival in the world now has to play catch up".
—Russell Allen, Technical Director, Dolby Laboratories
(Dolby is the world leader in cinema sound technology.)
"The stars and the moon hanging in the night sky above the sparkling ocean at the SandDance Theater create a surreal tropical movie-going experience. Spectacular!"
—CNN Headline News
"Each June, the stunning island of Maui is the place where the brightest minds in film converge in paradise for an inspiring combination of relaxation and excitement at the Maui Film Festival at Wailea. Screening an impressive collection of studio and independent features that enthrall and top notch documentaries that captivate and inform audiences. There's no better place than Maui for a film festival."
— Starz Festival Pass
Prices:
Celestial Cinema - Double feature
$20 for adults, $10 for kids
General admission to other films:
$10 for adults, $5 for kids
Approximately how many films have been screened since the festival began?
400-450 features, documentaries and 200-250 shorts
Sponsors:
Starz, Starbucks, Bombay Gin and Hawaiian Style Magazine.
Related Events:
In addition to the Maui Film Festival's annual event in Wailea, the Festival presents an on-going weekly CandleLight Café & Cinema film series throughout the year and FirstLight: Academy Screenings on Maui each Holiday Season, at which virtually all of the year's most award-worthy releases are presented either in advance of their national release dates or contemporaneously with screenings in New York or Los Angeles only.
