Our Ni’ihau movie is done! Yeah! Well, not really.

FAMOUS & DAVE’S BIG ADVENTURE: THE NI’IHAU MOVIE

Catch the trailer now on DLTV “On-Demand – Watch DLTV at DaveLawrenceOnline.com or the DLTV Facebook page. Go to the “On-Demand” tab on the player when it opens.

Filmed entirely on “The Forbidden Island”, Ni’ihau, Hawai’i, Famous & Dave’s Big Adventure: The Ni’ihau Movie is a full length motion picture film. Now, don’t get carried away and think it’s a real movie you can see anytime soon. Oh no. Even though we had permission to film it, some people threatened us for presenting it on Youtube. They said we didn’t have permission to share it, and it was forbidden. The owners of the island apparently realized they never expressed clearly up front that we cannot share the videos publicly without displeasing them, and that they do not intend for those they permit to visit to share the videos publicly. Native Hawaiians, ex-Niihauans who cannot return to their island because of habits they’ve developed, jealous local folks who hate people based on their race, and other unpleasant situations can be encountered when attempting to present even mere natural moving pictures of any kind featuring this fascinating little island. See the trailer on DLTV. When someone threatens your physical well-being over a video, you have to take note of that.

As for the finished movie we have: It’s by no means serious film-making, and in a lot of ways, similar to many home videos or movies of trips to far away or special places, as Famous and I do a shell-hunting journey to this mysterious treasure. The difference between The Ni’ihau Movie and most of people’s home movies, is Ni’ihau is not a readily accessible place. Ni’ihau, being private property and in Hawai’i, is a location of significance, and it’s hard to get to.

The method of arriving there is not advertised, but widely available information. The people who handle it were so nice, and treated us very, very well. But, don’t plan on using your videos for anything public unless you want to upset the owners, who we respect greatly, so much we took the three minute trailer off of Youtube. We wish they’d told us that up front, but they acknowledged they should have afterward, at least. We never thought it would also anger local people who have no relationship to us, aren’t featured in the video, aren’t connected to Ni`ihau, aren’t even Hawaiian… and who feel so self-righteous as to threaten others with bodily harm over a travel video of beaches.

Famous & Dave’s Big Adventure: The Ni’ihau Movie was shot on a trip fully authorized and presented by the island’s owners, and in it you’d meet their employee, Dana Rosendal, our escort, and a fine, talented gentleman. You’d go where few have gone since 1864. A place that some say captures the old Hawai’i. An island where Hawaiian is the primary language spoken, and English second. Beaches with no signs. Anywhere. At all. You can research what that place is like somewhere else…  No sounds but that of the wind whipping by and waves crashing, as we explored a world unto itself that connects Hawaii, desert island dreams, and your own fragile existence in one, unbelievable, surreal experience. Where Famous & Dave’s Big Adventure is lacking compared to a slickly produced nature or resort video, it’s rewarding in it’s homemade, humble, gritty, and visceral delivery of “The Forbidden Isle”. It is in some ways, pioneering, and breaks new ground in a few areas.

It’s the first full-length movie publicly acknowledged. This island has been privately owned since 1864 by one family and their ancestors, who since legitimately gaining control of it, have restricted access considerably.

This is the only Hawaiian Island inhabited by primarily Hawaiians; all ethnically Hawaiian, and in almost every case, pure Hawaiian. They come from a pool of several families that have lived on Ni’ihau since prior to the Sinclair/Robinson purchase in 1864. But, the residents are not in the movie. That’s not what the film is about. We respect their privacy, and maintained it at all times when there. We spent time with a wonderfully kind and accepting native Hawaiian, a Ni`ihau resident and part-time employee of the helicopter tour company the owners operate; he is never once seen. That’s how much we respected their rules. Famous & Dave’s Big Adventure: The Ni’ihau Movie, is about video from that island, the nature. Searching Youtube for actual video shot on the island of Ni’ihau, reveals very little. Actual video of any kind, shot on that island… is tough to get. Diving, sure. Snorkeling, yep. A couple of fly overs, lots of still pics. But video, filmed on the ground… not a fruitful search.

Famous & Dave’s Big Adventure: The Ni’ihau Movie is making it’s debut via a trailer you can watch on DLTV.

HERE’S THE OFFICIAL TRAILER:

 

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Just keep in mind, if you go there, you will be expected to not share your stuff in a public way, and could have your life threatened as I have. For showing some beaches. With no people on them. On a trip you spent almost four hundred dollars on. Per person. Times five. Where no one who goes on the trip can share their videos on Youtube afterward. Just so you know… Only fair, right? Seems fair to point this out, as most people these days, like to share on Facebook, Youtube, etc. Not wrong to do, especially just some beautiful beaches. That’s what you’d think… It’s pretty disappointing in many ways. I wish you could spend almost 90 minutes on Ni’ihau with us. We hike. We swim. We snorkel. We meet Hawaiian Monk Seals. We collect a lot of cool shells. I wish you could join our cast of characters from Oahu and get in on the good times. Just keep in mind: your ability to share the videos, and do so in good conscience and with the blessing of the tour operators/island owners, is severely restricted. Though we did not get word of their displeasure with us sharing the video on Youtube until a month after our party spent nearly two-thousand dollars on their trip, we removed it, as they prefer.

It ranks as one of those, ‘glad I did it, but ultimately disappointing’ things… At least I can say I’ve been there. And again, the people who run it, in the office there, solid. Good folks. They took very good care of us, and that is a nice thing to remember.