Kainoa Rudolfo

When a Native Hawaiian Police Officer is called in on his day off to evict the protesting Native Hawaiian residents of a homeless settlement deemed “illegal” by the State of Hawaii, he is forced to choose between supporting his family, upholding the law, and doing what is morally right . . . or PONO.

ISLAND COWGIRLS weaves parallel portraits of two wāhine paniolo (Hawaiian cowgirls), DeeDee Bertlemann and Lani Cran Petrie living on opposite sides of the Hawaiʻi island, who both face uncertain futures as ranchers working on state managed lands with expiring leases. With the coronavirus pandemic, erupting volcanoes, and encroaching real estate developers impacting their lives, they seek to preserve their paniolo way of life while creating an environmentally and economically sustainable future for their children.