- A new documentary, "Sharing Aloha," explores Hawaii's Polynesian Cultural Center.
- Directed by Blair Treu, it highlights students' experiences and addresses online criticisms.
- The film premieres Aug. 29 across the western U.S., supporting student scholarships.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii has just celebrated its 62nd anniversary and is now featured in a new film, premiering in theaters throughout the western U.S. on Aug. 29.
Located on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu is the state's biggest cultural and tourist attraction – the Polynesian Cultural Center.
The center is the focus of a new film by Blair Treu titled "Sharing Aloha."
"I think the thing that attracted me most was just the story of these students," Treu said.
KSL-TV traveled to the center twice to create specials for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is 42 acres and is near the Brigham Young University-Hawaii campus, which shares students.
The students come from throughout the Pacific Islands, work 19 hours a week during the school year, 40 hours in the summer and they graduate debt-free.
"We ended up going home with several of them. We went to Tonga and to Fiji and to Tahiti and, of course, some of the locals there in Hawaii, and not all of the students come from the islands, some come from here in the United States, from the mainland," Treu said. "We got a chance to meet their families back at home and really get a sense of the struggles they go through to get there, to stay there and to graduate from there. It's not easy."
The auditions are nerve-wracking, and performances are demanding. More than a million tourists visit the Polynesian Cultural Center every year, and that money supports the young people's education.
Treu addressed some negative social media comments in the film, from "this is slave labor" or "you are selling your culture." He even traveled with a hidden camera to find naysayers.
"What I've come to realize is that most of these off-beat comments come from faceless, nameless, online contributors; by and large those comments come from people who have never been there and have never experienced it. But we do address it," Treu said.
He said the students he found actually do well from their performance requirements.
"They actually get the equivalent of about $50, $51 an hour of total benefit. Where else are you going to get that?" Treu said.
What he and his crew found was joy.
He said that the young people he found love the opportunity to express "ohana," or family.
"As we were telling these stories, I was amazed at the earnestness and the sincerity. They have light in their eyes, you can see it, you can feel it," Treu said.
Aloha means love, affection, peace, and that is what both the filmmaker and the Polynesian Cultural Center student-performers hope to share.
"They really do desire to share that Aloha spirit with everybody who comes through their doors and by extension, everyone who sees this film … all the proceeds go right back to the general scholarship fund to support these kids that come from the islands," Treu said.
