Mahalo Covid-19
In this short documentary, Emmy Award winning filmmaker, Matt Yamashita, injects himself into a story about the impacts of Covid-19, both on his small island community and in his personal life.
- Filmmaker(s)
- Matt Yamashita
- Category
- Shorts
- Subject Matter
- Culture
- Featured In
- Pacific Pulse
The pandemic puts a filmmaker’s (Matt Yamashita) thriving film career on hold, so he focuses his camera on his community and himself to document the unique impacts of the pandemic on a remote Hawaiian Island. When food and money starts running out, Matt turns to his skill as a fisherman to feed his family. Other Molokai residents and non-profits also turn inward and toward each other to find answers to unprecedented challenges. The pandemic is a turbulent time for everyone, but it also becomes an opportunity to strengthen relationships, regain inner peace, and reconnect with nature and community.
MATT YAMASHITA - Producer/Director
Matt Yamashita is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker born and raised on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. After receiving a BFA in Film Production from Chapman University, Matt returned to Molokai to become the island’s first professional filmmaker. He has been working in the film industry since 2001 and has developed a full range of production skills including: concept development, writing, directing, producing, shooting, and editing.
Matt has unique expertise working within Hawaii-based communities, cultures, and environments and has dedicated the primary focus of his work to telling Hawaii’s stories through a local lens. Since 2016, Matt has also been working on national and international projects focusing on themes of environment and culture including profile pieces for Emmy Award winning series "The New Environmentalists" narrated by Robert Redford. Matt is also a key collaborator for storytelling and media outreach for the Surf Conservation Partnership through Conservation International and Save the Waves Coalition.
Matt has held key roles in productions that have received national and international broadcast on networks including PBS National and Arte France. He has also had a number of feature and short documentaries showcased at film festivals around the world, where they have won numerous awards.
In his personal life, Matt is a passionate surfer, fisherman, soccer coach, community volunteer, and family man who cares deeply about humanity and our planet.
