Hey friends! I live in New York now, and I’m looking for projects. Here is a new reel I made with some of my proudest work from the last 8 years as a freelance director, cinematographer and editor.
The films and videos included here have taken me all over the world and taught me a lot. Here are a few things I learned:
- I love people. People are people wherever you go, and we all want to be heard and loved. If we listen to each other, we all do better.
- A truly good story must be told through a truly good process. One that is kind, and places people and relationships before outcomes. (Thing is, it actually makes the work a lot better, too.)
- Collaboration heals. When we value each other for our differences, bring our unique talents to the table and invite others to do the same, then we can really know each other, and we learn to see each other in ourselves. And when we get there… what we can create is only limited by our imagination.
So hey, if that all sounds fun to you, please say hi! I’m looking for both doc and narrative projects, and planning to spend this next year expanding into more commercial and branded work. Let’s tell stories to help ourselves and others laugh, cry, scream, dance and love, so we can all come a little bit closer together.
You can take a look at my full portfolio at my new website alexcantatore.com (link in bio).
Also want to shout out a few fellow artists whose work is also featured here and who have been incredible supporters along my journey. You can’t do it without a crew. Thank you ❤️
@nathaneric.media@skylerdavislee@seanncantatore@angellyneenja@shayduhg@vilihereniko@threemusketeersfilms
As we wrap up our @niuforeverfilm fundraiser today we are humbled and full of gratitude for the message you have sent us that you believe in this story, this mo‘olelo, and you want us to tell it. Thank you for making it possible. We take on this responsibility with great joy and love in our hearts. It is an honor to share purpose with @niu.now
Mahalo for taking this journey with us.
We can do this, together.
Kupu ka niu, kupu ke kanaka!
When coconuts grow, humanity flourishes!
Come to a Niu Now volunteer workday and you will hear this a lot! It comes from He Pule Niu - a coconut prayer - published in Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, October 15th, 1897 by Nathaniel B. Emerson (Papakilo Database). The Niu Now movement is dedicated to reclaiming and preserving the relationship with the kumu niu, the coconut tree. This tree is considered the "Tree of Life" among Indigenous Hawaiians and throughout the Pacific. Food sovereignty, soil regeneration and ecological conservation through niu cultivation goes hand and hand with revitalization of Hawaiian culture.
We're humbled to tell this story through the words and experiences of those who are leading this movement and there is still more to tell.
If you want to support our film and help this story get told on PBS, make a pledge on our campaign page. Link is in our bio. Or visit
We can only reach our fundraising goal if people like you can help us spread the word. Please share this post and invite your friends to follow our page.
With Aloha,
The Niu Forever Team
“It takes time. But just be steady at something, and offer that into the world. That’s what Niu Now, our coconut movement, humbly, is trying to do. It’s trying to create a world awakening, through the service of others. And the love of land.”
- Aunty Manu Aluli Meyer
This niu was one of the original 10 planted to establish a new uluniu at UH West O‘ahu in 2021. Watching it fall to CRB weighs heavy, but the response of @niu.now and the coconut movement is to plant: again and again and again.
The keiki planted in this video is of the same variety of the fallen tree, and continues its lineage.
#niu #coconut #plant
What a day. What a gathering. What a reminder of who we are. Mahalo nū nui ✨
The Niu Festival – Ho‘opono Event in Hilo was filled with hands in the leaves, laughter in the street, and ʻike being shared across generations.
So many arrived curious… and left having woven their own pāpale, created baskets, learned to grate niu, engaged in keiki activities, shared meals, and even took home plants to continue growing food and mauli in their own spaces.
This is what mutual emergence looks like. Community showing up. Practitioners teaching. Keiki learning. Kūpuna guiding.
Mahalo nui to our partners, collaborators, vendors, cultural practitioners, and every single person who stood with us on Haili Street. You made this more than an event; you made it a living practice.
We carry this forward together.
@kandu_macarons_n_things_@noaneikulolo@pacificmixcatering@kapa_radio@mala.laau.hawaii@kokuaharvest@bigislandinvasivespecies@dabpioinfo@downtownhilohi@pohaku_pelemaka@tuki.drake@auliimitchell
#NiuFestival
#Hoopono
#HuiʻOihana
#HiloHawaiʻi
#LāhuiRising
🌴COUNTDOWN TO NIU FESTIVAL🌴
We’re just days away from closing down Lower Haili Street to celebrate all things NIU 🥥
This Sunday, 2/22 — we gather as a community.
🚧 Road closure begins at 7 AM
🌿 Haili Street festivities from 9 AM–1 PM
Opening protocol at 9 AM
We’re transforming downtown Hilo into a living classroom and celebration space, honoring niu as food, medicine, craft, economy, and cultural lifeline.
Then we continue the day together:
🎬 Doors open at 2PM
Screening of Niu Forever followed by a powerful Ho‘opono: Mutual Emergence talk story with Aunty Manu (Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer) here in Hilo.
“This is about remembering who we are through niu, culturally, economically, and environmentally.” ~Misty Carter, Board President
This is a FREE community event hosted by Hui ʻOihana – Hawaiʻi Island Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce in partnership with:
@niuforever@pohakupelemaka@quickactcasual@uluniu_growing@niu.now@threemusketeersfilms@dabpioinfo@lemonadehoneyhawaii@kandu_macarons_n_things_@noaneikulolo
Bring your ʻohana. Bring your curiosity. Bring your aloha.
Come learn. Come connect. Come protect our niu.
Hilo — this one is for you 🌺
#NiuFestival
#HiloHawaii
#HuiOihana
#ProtectOurNiu
#CommunityStrong
We’ll see you on Haili Street. 🌺
Timelapse I shot a few years back with the help of @nathaneric.media
Two 18x18’ square canvases (broken into four 9x18’ pieces), stretched, drafted and painted in Los Angeles, then rolled up, transported across the country, re-stretched and assembled in NYC. Can check em out in the lobby of 730 Third Ave!
#timelapse #fineart #arts
“It’s okay to be tough and it’s okay to cry.”
I shot this conversation about masculinity 7 years ago… it feels more relevant than ever today.
Can the world be at peace without balance between the masculine and feminine within all of us?
What kind of future can we imagine if masculinity is a positive, inclusive energy, rather than a combative, exclusive one?
What do you think?
#masculinity #conversation #interview
2025 Recap: Parte Deux
1. Visited Moloka‘i to screen Niu Forever and felt so move aloha from this community ❤️
2. Shot some more fun interviews with @willychilton for Rolling Stone.
3. @megan.lc.mcnally and I drew portraits of each other at @metmuseum
4. Worked in the lo‘i with my @bluewaterexchange fam.
5. Leveled up my parallel parking skills in NYC.
6. Shot some crazy ballet in Times Square with @megan.lc.mcnally
7. Moved into an apartment with my favorite sister @seanncantatore
8. Surfed Rockaway Beach :)
9. Directed, co-wrote and performed in @seanncantatore ‘s sketch show “I Don’t Need You To Like Me (But I Really Want You To)”
10. Rode bicycles to Coney Island with Patrick.
11. Baked baguettes.
12. Did my first arabesque.
13. Went apple picking with Certified Cutie @megan.lc.mcnally
14. Married my friends @jaclynaliperti and @pieter_krssss and somehow have only this photo from the wedding.
15. Learned to mend.
16. Had a truly awesome family Thanksgiving.
17. Took a photo with @neil_patel_182 and a butt at @metmuseum
18. Ran a 5k with @barbcantatore@fecantatore@seanncantatore
19. Played late night chess with Sammy.
20. Discovered my super villain look on NYE.
It’s impossible to feel a whole year. I know lots of it (not pictured here) was hard. I made some big decisions that affect the trajectory of my life, I dealt with the anxiety of putting my work out for the judgment of the world, and I struggled to find my footing with work in a new city.
But going through all these photos reminded me that it was mostly full of love and expansion. Thanks to all of you, pictured or not, who always make it a beautiful journey.
Love,
Alex
Here is something new that I’ve been working at diligently and consistently - but I won’t say I’ve been working hard - because it’s just a natural emergence from the work I’ve been called to do, and the friends and mentors who have shared purpose with me along the way.
Mission Frame Media is a video production company that sees storytelling as an act of service. We’re based in New York City, but we’re collaborating all across the continental U.S. and the Pacific Islands, helping mission-driven nonprofits, agencies, and communities tell their stories and deepen their impact.
This new focus represents my own evolution as a storyteller, a friend, and a person who belongs to this Mother Earth. It’s a clarity that continues to arise with every collaboration, every laugh and every cry shared on this journey of understanding ourselves and each other. So the evolution isn’t really mine, it’s collective, and it’s an open invitation.
When you work with Mission Frame, expect an approach that puts people, culture, and relationships first. We listen, we learn, and we create story collaboratively. We are kind, communicative, and transparent about the entire video production process. Cause at the end of the day, it’s all about relationship.
Can’t wait to keep growing with you all.
- Alex Cantatore
#video #nonprofit #storyteller
