WATERS OF PU‘ULOA

Waters of Puʻuloa is a documentary that chronicles the transformation of the ʻEwa District on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, and the waterways of Puʻuloa, now known as Pearl Harbor - from a vibrant estuary to a polluted industrial zone. Celebrated for its abundant natural resources and the sophisticated Ahupuaʻa land and water management system, this area has faced severe environmental degradation due to militarization, urbanization and industrialization. The film explores Puʻuloa’s evolution from a thriving hub of abundance, where clean waterways sustained fertile lands and numerous fishponds, to a site of environmental crisis. In the film, Hawaiian farmers, fishermen, and activists demonstrate the real life impacts of militarization and over-development. Highlighting the revival of Native Hawaiian practices and the work of those on the front lines working to actively restore food systems and ancestral lifeways, this documentary envisions a future where the land and waters of Puʻuloa are once again fertile and thriving.