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Standing Above the Clouds
Standing Above the Clouds
Standing Above the Clouds
Standing Above the Clouds

Standing Above the Clouds

$375.00

 

    • Directed by: Jalena Keane-Lee
    • Released: 2024 (educational)
    • Year of Production: 2023
Running Time: 83 min
Language: English
Subtitle Options: English Closed Captions
Subjects:  Environmental Studies, Indigenous Studies
      
       

         

Standing Above the Clouds highlights the movement to protect Mauna Kea through the intergenerational stories of women in three Native Hawaiian families as they stand for the sacred mountain. The film follows teacher and community organizer Pua Case and her two daughters — artist-activists Hāwane Rios and Kapulei Flores — who have been called to stop the telescope since 2010. Their lives quickly become consumed with frontline actions and court proceedings and immersed in ceremonies and cultural practices. As they face opposition and arrests, they are joined by the families of Mehana and Leina'ala and a community who have dedicated their lives to protecting Mauna Kea.

The film is an intimate journey through the women’s lives both on and off the mountain, and explores the physical and emotional toll of sustaining a grassroots movement. After nine months of living on the mountain, blocking construction, and establishing a frontline camp, Standing Above The Clouds shows their journey to heal once they return to their homes in March 2020. In the face of challenges and tragedy, the mountain gifts each woman with hope and strength and the understanding that victory is in standing in unity for sacred places and that healing occurs through the sisterhood they have created along the way.

HotDocs Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary

Special Mention for Best International Director at Doc Edge 2024

Best International Cinematography at Film Ambiente

Best Made in Hawaiʻi Feature Documentary at the 2024 Hawaiʻi International Film Festival

Best Feature Documentary at the 2024 San Diego Asian Film Festival

2025 Jaya Award Winner - 2025 Athena Film Festival

People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary at 2025 Maoriland Film Festival

" There’s a life force coursing through Standing Above the Clouds that is intensely infectious. The film is a profound statement on how the human spirit can’t be broken as long as individuals band together. Although focused on a specific region in Hawaii, the film still manages to conjure an entire history of first nations peoples’ struggles against destructive colonialist forces. The film’s impact can be felt across time and space and is a deeply inspiring message for all viewers." -POV
        

“A devastating inside look at a powerful grassroots protest led by women and elders to protect our nature and future from commercialization.” - Hot Docs Jury

           

“Takes viewers beyond the headlines and frontlines in profound and intimate ways.” - Variety

                    
“Standing Above the Clouds is a deeply human portrait of what it means to dedicate one’s life to activism.” - Film Obsessive
        
About the filmmakers
            

Jalena Keane-Lee (Director/Producer/Cinematographer) is a filmmaker who explores intergenerational trauma and healing through an intersectional lens. She was named one of DOC NYC’s 2024 40 Under 40 Filmmakers to Watch, a 2023 Adobe x Sundance Woman to Watch, and co-founded Breaktide, an all-women-of-color video production company. Jalena is the winner of Tribeca Through Her Lens 2020 and DocPitch 2022. Her films have streamed on POV and Criterion Collection, played at over 50 film festivals, and won best short at LA Asian Film Festival in 2020 and the Jury Award at Sundance in 2023. Jalena’s directing style is guided by a politic that is rooted in the liberation of all people, and radical hope that a better world is not only possible but up to all of us to create. 

          

Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau (Producer) has dedicated her life to creating empathy-forward stories for her community. Her work stretches across mediums — ranging from documentaries to branded content and scripted films. After completing her Bachelors at the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Erin went on to receive her MFA in directing from Chapman University. Since graduating, Erin has signed with the United Talent Agency (UTA) and continued her growth with the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, Nia Tero, Points North Institute, Tribeca Studios, NBC, MTV, and more. Over the past decade, her projects have screened across the world in over 50 film festivals, while her work for Jubilee Media has accumulated over 130 million online views.

           

Amber Espinosa-Jones (Producer) is a creative producer and DEIA strategist from Oakland, CA. She is a 2024 ArtEquity BIPOC Leader, 2022 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader, and recently produced the feature film STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS following Native-Hawaiian mother daughter activists executive produced by Multitude Films. Amber currently serves as Senior Manager of Artist + Audience Impact at Sundance Institute overseeing strategy and granting programs for marginalized artists and audiences. With a diverse background in theatre and film, Amber is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Dramatic Arts and Media Arts + Practice programs with an interest in social change and collaborative community building.

    

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