Philip Schlieder

This team has come so far from the moments the fires of Lahaina put a scar across the Hawaiian landscape. This kuleana has been heavy for all of us at times, but each and everyone of these team members have offered strength to each other in substantial ways. This team continues to inspire me greatly as we collaborate in spreading a message of unity and peace far past this island chain in the middle of the pacific we call home. I could not ask for better people to call collaborators, friends and colleagues. @paele_kulani @deandre.makakoa @__.actormosesgoods.__ @mat5o @bkrvlogs @ahbobin @rocktherights A special mahalo nui loa to @nationofhawaii @hawaiiannational @puuhonua_kanahele @johngarcia Lindsay Kukona Pakele, @koolaupokoboi @keoni_difranco and the entire Nation of Hawaii for their support in getting us out to the United Nations.

I'm now back in Hawaii and letting the United Nations week our team had in NYC sink in. Its hard to put in words how special of an experience this was for each and everyone of us. @lahainarising was the catalyst for this, but ultimately it has turned into something so much greater than our documentary could have ever fathomed. A major realization is that the story continues to unfold and we are just a part of it on a long timeline that is revealing itself to us.

When your talented friend @renaissanceman visits and always has his @leica_camera on him. Come back to Hawaii soon brother.

This is community. A path towards a sustainable future for Hawaii and the world. Neighbor islands and Oahu coming together to rebuild the foundation of sustenance for the people of Hawaii. Over 2,000 people showed up to help build the fishpond wall and Ala Wai to connect mauka to makai. Lei was made that stretched around the entirety of the fishpond 2 times. The amount of mana that went into this is mind boggling. At the end of it all we got to eat lunch together with fish from the pond for the first time since it’s been brought back. Today was a day that deeply inspired me to continue the work and kuleana. Was an honor to document it with an amazing team. Mahalo ke akua. iPhone shots from the day. @paepaeoheeia @kakoooiwiorg

A full house for Lāhainā Rising 🌺 Mahalo, Maui — your love fills the room. @mauiartsculture @hiffhawaii #hiff45 . . . #lahainarising #mauistrong

🎙️ Rising from the Ashes — Tune in to @kcbxfm ’s Journeys of Discovery with @thomas.wilmer , featuring the powerful story behind Lāhainā Rising, the documentary that captures the chaos, courage, and community resilience in the wake of Maui’s deadly 2023 firestorm. 🔗 Listen now (link in bio). #LahainaRising #MauiStrong #Lahaina #DocumentaryFilm #KCBX #NPR #JourneysOfDiscovery #HawaiiFilm #Resilience #CommunityHealing

Lāhainā Rising made its World Premiere last week at the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF45), screening to three sold-out audiences. Each screening opened with a moment of silence honoring the lives lost and the many still displaced by the August 8, 2023 Maui wildfires. Directed by @mat5o , with cinematographer/producers @bkrvlogs and @manaiakalanimedia , and producer @philschlieder , the film was followed by a heartfelt discussion with community activists @paele_kulani and @misscourtneyyy_ . 🎙️ The post-screening Q&A was moderated by Chief of War actor and storyteller @__.actormosesgoods.__ The 92-minute film takes viewers inside the harrowing events of August 8, 2023, when the historic town of Lāhainā, Maui, was devastated by one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history—capturing in real time the chaos, courage, and collective resilience of a community forever changed. Following its acclaimed premiere and widespread media attention, the film was honored with the Made in Hawai‘i Award at #hiff45, recognizing the extraordinary talent of Maui’s local storytellers. The film—spanning the genres of Documentary, Environmental, Indigenous/Native Peoples, and Mental Health—will screen for the first time on Maui to a sold-out audience on Saturday, November 8, at 6:00 PM as part of HIFF’s Neighbor Island screenings at the @mauiartsculture . 📸 @janjan1.0 @hiffhawaii 🔗 To learn more about the film, please visit the link in our bio. Mahalo! #LahainaRising #HIFF45 #MadeInHawaii #HawaiiFilmFestival #MauiStrong #Lahaina

Honored to see Lāhainā Rising recognized at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival. 🌺 Mahalo to our community, crew, and everyone who helped bring this story of resilience and aloha to life. 🎬 From @island_eye_productions Directed by @mat5o Produced by @bkrvlogs @manaiakalanimedia @philschlieder Edited by @maxmooney5 @colegirton Music by @david.kitay Impact Campaign by @360mediacampaigns @ahbobin @rocktherights . #LāhaināRising #HIFF45 #MadeInHawaii #MauiStrong #HawaiiFilm #Lahaina

Couldn’t have asked for a better way to cap off this week of our film screenings of @lahainarising for @hiffhawaii at the Pu’uhonua Waimanalo. This Aina means so much to me and especially after our launch of Lahaina Rising the amount of amazing conversations and connections has made me feel so positive about my community. To top it off, I got to bring my father out to this place of healing and planted an ‘a’ali’i tree that will hopefully live far after we both pass on to create shade for future generations. Mahalo to the @nationofhawaii @hawaiiannational @koolaupokoboi for always continue to inspire. IMUA.

Repost from @wearehpr • “Lāhainā Rising” is the story of the 2023 Maui wildfire, the history and environmental factors that led up to the tragedy, and how the community came together in the aftermath to help each other and fight for change.⁠ ⁠ “This story is our lives,” said De Andre Makakoa, a cinematographer and producer of the 90-minute documentary. “So more than being filmmakers and documentarians, having the privilege and honor to tell the story, we are very much also of the community as well, boots on the ground, doing the work.”⁠ ⁠ The documentary was accepted for the Hawai’i International Film Festival as a feature film. Makakoa said the audience was audibly tearful while watching. But the reaction was positive.⁠ ⁠ “I had people coming up to me and telling me afterwards that they were inspired to go out and do something, to go out and be involved after watching our film,” he said. “And that meant a lot, because that is the main goal.”⁠ ⁠ “Lāhainā Rising” was also nominated for the Made in Hawai’i award, and at a ceremony this week, it won.⁠ ⁠ 📷️: Courtesy “Lāhainā Rising”

Words don’t begin to describe the emotions working on our documentary, Lahaina Rising over the past two years. Supporting this film made by the community of Lahaina and its residents was the most meaningful project of my life. @bkrvlogs , @mat5o and @manaiakalanimedia lived this day in and day out with De Andre loosing his home alongside countless others in the community. The fire was only the beginning because it reopened deep wounds from land and water mismanagement, government corruption, and military and governing institutions that dropped the ball for the people of Lahaina and Maui. The amount of pressure that there was to get this story right was immense and I’m greatly humbled to be chosen by these three men who have since become like brothers to me to walk alongside them in that process. To be given that trust is meaningful beyond measure. This story has changed me forever and changed the way I look at filmmaking in its entirety. Cutting the police bodycam footage, pouring through the clip after clip of harrowing community iPhone shots, forming narrative off the countless story angles, shooting interviews with great pain and emotion, and the many phone calls that felt more like therapy sessions than film production, a part of my heart is now forever with Lahaina. I’m not from Lahaina and to leave a part of myself there is a great honor. Winning this award does not matter for any sort of accolades or a feather in a cap. This award gives us a chance to close a chapter on images that will play on my deathbed someday, while opening another page as this film moves onto its next iteration. Our team knows the film is not perfect, there’s parts that are still rough around the edges, but we are immensely proud that we scraped by day after day to put this grassroots independent film together to share with the world. This was a huge labor of love that included others such as @ahbobin @rocktherights that played a monumental role in helping support all of us in this journey. Continued in comments…

LĀHAINĀ RISING is a searing yet deeply hopeful documentary chronicling the devastation and resilience that followed the August 8, 2023 wildfire that tore through the historic town of Lāhainā, Maui — the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century. With more than 13,000 residents displaced and an entire town reduced to ashes, the film captures both the staggering loss and the community’s unbreakable spirit. Told through firsthand accounts, rare archival police bodycam footage, and layered historical context, LĀHAINĀ RISING—created by Maui filmmakers with deep Lāhainā roots—unearths how centuries of environmental degradation, plantation-era water diversion, and tourism-driven exploitation set the stage for catastrophe. The film reveals how systemic injustices left Native Hawaiian communities vulnerable, silenced, and underserved. At its heart, however, this is a tribute to the people of Lāhainā. In the absence of adequate government response, residents organized their own relief networks, cared for one another, and began the long road to healing and rebuilding. Their resilience and solidarity offer a vision for a more just and regenerative future—not only for Lāhainā, but for all of Hawai‘i. LĀHAINĀ RISING is both a reckoning and a rallying cry—a powerful reminder that from the ashes of destruction, new life can rise. 🎬 From @island_eye_productions Directed by @mat5o Produced by @bkrvlogs @manaiakalanimedia @philschlieder Edited by @maxmooney5 @colegirton Music by @david.kitay Impact Campaign by @360mediacampaigns @ahbobin @rocktherights #LahainaRising #HIFF45 #WorldPremiere #Documentary #Lahaina #ImpactCinema #HawaiiFilm #Resilience #AlohaSpirit