Maui Film Festival Director on Community Spirit After Tragic Fires

The Hollywood Reporter: “They have called it the worst disaster that’s ever happened to Hawaii — but we’re all doing our best to keep everything moving forward and getting better for everybody. A lot of the upcountry got its ‘ōkole kicked, and Lahaina doesn’t really even exist anymore,” says Barry Rivers, the director of the Maui Film Festival, which he founded in 2000, on a phone call a few days after fires ripped through the island of Maui. The fire has destroyed the village of Lahaina and unleashed a death toll that now stands at 106 even as search efforts continue.