After more than thirteen and-a-half years on the planet, Makana the Cat made her transition on the morning of Monday, September 7. I will miss her, and the unconditional love and trust she always showed.

Mahalo, Makana. You’re free of pain and now at peace.

» A gallery of relatively recent images on Makana’s Page here.
» As a small kitten: video here.
» A little later in life, as she ventures into the great outdoors.

The biggest challenge remains funding, though. Despite strong and continuing sentiment that this film is a much-needed project that will fill a gaping void in Hawai‘i history, we remain well short of the amount required to complete the film.

We’re very grateful to those who have so generously supported the project, from the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation, and many other organizations and individuals. And we know that the necessary resources will be provided; the unknown is in what form, and when…

If you’d like to help, you can donate online (and all contributions are tax-deductable) at the film’s website, holdingthedream.org. You can also learn more about the project there, as well.

This very generous donation has enabled us to renew licenses for materials used in the film, including key segments from 60 Minutes and Good Morning America. License fees for all the materials totalled many thousands of dollars; without this gift, A Most Unlikely Hero would have been pulled from broadcast, sales, distribution, and exhibition.

But now that all is by-the-book-legal once again, the film can continue to be broadcast on public television stations nationide, purchased through CreateSpace, and exhibited for groups across the country.

If your organization, educational institution, or community group wants to screen the film, contact us or go to the film’s website at unlikelyhero.org.

And mahalo to all for your continued support of this important film.

Bruce will also be the co-keynote speaker at the gala banquet of the Organization of Chinese Americans at the Chicago Marriott on the following day, November 17. We’ve managed to sneak in the trailer for the film as part of Bruce’s presentation.

Also keynoting that night–former Hawai‘i resident and filmmaker par excellence Eric Byler, who’s also a friend of A Most Unlikely Hero, having seen it at a film festival in Boston a couple of years ago. I look forward to offering aloha to Eric again; he’s done remarkable work in recent years. And he’s posted some of it on YouTube…

More information on both events at OCA’s website.

Read more about what we’re doing at the film’s website, and if you’re so moved to support this landmark project, you can donate online. It’s all tax-deductible, too.