Story :Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.
Cast
PuhipauNarrator (voice)
Manu Aluli MeyerHerself - Philosopher of Education
Keawe VredenburgHimself
Sam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a GonHimself - Conservation Biologist
Kealoha PisciottaHerself - Mauna Kea Anaina Hou
Nelson HoHimself - Sierra Club
Paul NevesHimself - Royal Order of Kamehameha
Hanalei FergerstromHimself
Reynolds Kamakawiwo'oleHimself
Kahu o TerangiHimself
Pualani KanaheleHerself - Kumu Hula
Steve HessHimself - USGS Biological Resources
Julie A.K. LeialohaHerself - Natural Area Specialist/Biologist
Deborah WardHerself - Sierra Club
Moses KealamakiaHimself
Catherine RobbinsHerself
Kekuhi KanaheleHerself
Sayako KurodaHerself
Rose TsengHerself - University of Hawai'i at Hilo
Kenneth KumorHimself - NASA
Brad FinneyHimself - Environmental Engineer
Maxine Kaha'ulelioHerself
Everett FrancoHimself
Fred ChaffeeHimself - W. M. Keck Observatory
Victoria Holt TakamineHerself - 'Ilio'ulaokalani Coalition
Rolf-Peter KudritzkiHimself - UH Institute for Astronomy