Big Island Made Lava Film ‘STOKE’ Tours State

The Hawai‘i-made independent film Stoke is slated to screen across Hawai‘i Island, O‘ahu and Kaua‘i from December through February following a premiere at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival on Nov. 10, 2018.

A feature length drama shot on Hawai‘i Island in 2017, Stoke follows Jane (Caitlin Holcombe), a struggling tourist who hires two wannabe guides to take her to an active volcano. The road-trip film was partially shot in front of Kīlauea volcano’s famous 2017 “lava hose”—a 40 foot river of lava pouring into the Pacific Ocean.

Alive with vivid Hawaiian landscapes, Stoke is a fun, fresh take on the road trip genre, as weird and wild as Hawai‘i Island itself. The story dips from playful to dark as the characters journey from one end of Hawai‘i Island to the other en route to the volcano. While Jane struggles to let go of a grievous past, tension grows as Dusty (Ka‘uhane Lopes) and Po (Randall Galius Junior) grapple with the tourism industry created by their volcano until an untimely detour sends the group in an unexpected direction. Also featured in the film are Hawai‘i-based actors Kimee Balmilero (Hawai‘i 5.0, Magnum PI) and Po‘okela award winner Danielle Zalopany.

The film’s soundtrack is nearly completely comprised of Hawai‘i-based musicians, and features the work of Willie K, Bub Pratt, Mark Keali‘i Ho‘omalu, Keali‘i Reichel, Anthony Garza, Uncle’s Awa band and more.

“Our team is really excited to tour the film around Hawai‘i,” says the film’s co-director Phillips Payson, a Hawaii Island resident. “Nearly all of our cast and crew are Hawai‘i-based, so this feels like a homecoming.”The filmmakers and various cast members will be in attendance at each screening.

Hawai‘i screening dates are as follows:

• Saturday, Nov. 10, 8:15 p.m., world premiere at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival, Dole Cannery, Honolulu
• Sunday, Nov. 11,  noon, Hawai‘i International Film Festival, Dole Cannery, Honolulu
• Sunday, Dec.  2, Hawai‘i International Film Festival, Hilo Palace Theater, Hilo
• Sunday, Dec. 9,  7 p.m., Honoka‘a People’s Theater, Honoka‘a
• Friday and Saturday, Dec. 21, and 22, 7:30 p.m. Hilo Palace Theater, Hilo
• Sunday, Dec. 23, 2:30 p.m., Hilo Palace Theater, Hilo
• Saturday, Dec. 29, 7:30 pm, Doris Duke Theater, Honolulu Museum of Art, O‘ahu
• Friday, Jan. 4, 7:30 pm, Aloha Theater, Kailua-Kona
• Thursday, Jan. 10, 7 p.m., Volcano Art Center, Volcano
• Monday, Feb. 18, Waimea Film Festival – HIFF Hana Hou, Historic Waimea Theater, Kaua‘i

For updated dates or added venues, follow along at www.StokeTheMovie.com or www.Facebook.com/StokeTheMovie.