KAPU: Sacred Hawaiian Burials is a documentary by Native Hawaiian filmmaker Keoni Kealoha Alvarez that examines the cultural and spiritual significance of traditional Hawaiian burial practices and the continuing struggle to protect iwi kūpuna—the ancestral remains of the Hawaiian people.
Through the voices of Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, descendants, community advocates, and kūpuna, the film explores the profound relationship between Native Hawaiians, their ancestors, and the ʻāina. KAPU documents cases in which ancestral burial places have been threatened or disturbed by development and brings attention to generations of Native Hawaiians who have worked to protect these sacred places.
More than a documentary about the past, KAPU: Sacred Hawaiian Burials is a call for education, respect, and cultural preservation. The film encourages Hawaiʻi and the broader community to recognize that Hawaiian burial places are sacred and that protecting iwi kūpuna is an important responsibility to both our ancestors and future generations.
Maui’s Deadly Firestorm is an Emmy Award-winning FRONTLINE/PBS documentary examining the devastating 2023 wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina, Maui, and claimed more than 100 lives. The documentary investigates the circumstances surrounding the disaster and the factors that contributed to one of the deadliest wildfires in modern U.S. history.
Native Hawaiian filmmaker Keoni Kealoha Alvarez served as a producer on the documentary and received a News & Documentary Emmy Award for his work on the production. Alvarez contributed his experience as a Hawaiʻi-based filmmaker and storyteller, helping bring national attention to the tragedy and the experiences of Maui's people and communities.
The Emmy Award represents an important achievement in Alvarez’s career and reflects his commitment to producing meaningful stories that document Hawaiʻi’s history, people, culture, and contemporary challenges for audiences locally, nationally, and around the world.