By Dawn Hurwitz
By all accounts, the premiere for Mermaids Lament last Friday, November 16 was a smash hit. As the film opens the crowd near to standing room sat hushed listening to an ambient soundtrack focused on the fantastic film footage of underwater activity by Ron Murray. The swarm of mermaids swimming is otherworldly and gorgeous.
Filmmaker GB Hajim recruited local talent from past and present film students with a core crew of only five people, absolutely remarkable considering the high quality of all facets of the feature. The story focuses on the relationship between Nell (Justina Mattos), a therapist, and Oee (Dayva Summer Escobar) a woman who’s been traumatized, lost her voice, and may or may not
be a mermaid. Nell finds Oee at the side of the road and realizes Oee is the perfect subject for her research and decides to take her in with a heart of gold. But she also has her own traumas that come up for her, making the dynamic interesting to observe. An additional undercurrent in the story highlights ocean abuse regarding plastic waste desecrating the shorelines and beaches. The message comes through clearly. Other messages too, like women empowering each other, and victims empowering the savior.
Rounding out the crew are Roselio Hernandez cinematographer, and Liz Saras who wore several hats throughout production including; script supervisor, assistant editor, and camera operator. GB also mentions that Liz’s personal story was the inspiration for a climactic scene filmed on the
Hajim
rocks, in the dark, in the ocean! GB also remarked afterward “I tried to get everyone involved holding the camera at some point.”
Of course one of the main attractions for us local folks was to rejoice in the familiar locations of our island home. The crowd erupted in applause and cheers for a scene in front of The Palace, you could hear audible appreciation in recognition of beach shots and other street locations. The crowd was in complete appreciation of the magic GB and his crew spun in producing such a beautifully told story.
GB conjured up the idea for the film during Covid having an unquenched creative thirst. When he found his main actors and production people it took no time at all to develop the story and begin filming. Pre-production and filming ran from March to August with a long post-production to finish the film. The final edition presented to the audience at The Palace was shown for the first time.
Q&A after the film involved a very enthusiastic audience response asking many questions of the crew. Even asking about a romance that blossomed between Dayva the mermaid and Roselio the cinematographer who are still smiling together today. The crew appeared quite humbled by the experience and joyous at being able to share the experience with an interested and caring local audience. One of the questions asked to GB was how he decided to make the film. He cited a director he had in a workshop, Sean Baker, who told him, “Go out now and make a movie with what you have, don’t wait for permission or money. Just go make a movie.” Sean is known for his work in “Red Rocket”, “Tangerine”, and “The Florida Project”.
Afterward I caught up with my old writing pal Catherine Kalama Becker author of Mana Cards: The Power of Hawaiian Wisdom. A book is also in the works by her and GB combining their talents to flesh out the story a bit more and it may be available in July.
And the lingering question remains, was Oee a real mermaid? Although in this viewer’s mind, it seemed perfectly reasonable to think that the undoing of that magic was real. You will have to judge for yourself. Additional screenings on the island will be at Aloha Theatre, Kainaliu (South
of Kona), 7:00 pm November 25, 2023, and Honoka’a People’s Theater, 5:30 pm December 15th, 2023.
It’s important to show local support for the art being created here on this island, you will not be disappointed.
Dawn Hurwitz
Dawn has been a resident of Puna since 1989, past owner of "Huna Ohana Bookstore & Cafe" founding VP of "Mainstreet Pahoa", and retired from "Mac Assistance" in 2017 to concentrate on writing. Her memoir "Psychedelic Wild Child" is available everywhere you would buy books, ask them to order it.
Talk Story is currently seeking out out local stories of interest as well as people to tell them. Please contact us if you can do either.
