Keoni Kealoha Alvarez is a Native Hawaiian Emmy Award-winning producer, director, filmmaker, journalist, author, and cultural advocate whose work is dedicated to sharing powerful stories about Hawaiʻi and its people. In 2025, Alvarez earned an Emmy Award as a producer for the FRONTLINE/PBS documentary Maui’s Deadly Firestorm, recognized for Outstanding Climate, Environment and Weather Coverage. This prestigious achievement reflects his commitment to excellence in documentary filmmaking and his ability to bring important stories from Hawaiʻi to national and international audiences.

 

For more than two decades, Alvarez has built his career as a passionate producer and director, using film as a way to educate, preserve history, and give a voice to Native Hawaiian culture and community concerns. His documentary KAPU: Sacred Hawaiian Burials represents years of dedication to documenting the sacred traditions surrounding iwi kūpuna and raising awareness about the need to protect ancestral burial places. Through his award-winning filmmaking, Alvarez continues to demonstrate the power of Native Hawaiian storytelling while inspiring future generations to preserve their culture, history, and connection to the ʻāina.