Mana Studios to Produce Hawaiian Language Film Translation

This Saturday, February 29, Mana Studios will host the first crowd-sourced translation event to celebrate and expand Hawaiian language use in today’s media-saturated world.

Using a crowd-sourced approach to translate closed-captioned movie dialogue, ʻŌlelo Jam will challenge Hawaiian language speakers at all levels of proficiency to work collaboratively to complete a translation of a popular movie using Mana Studios’ new online platform, ʻŌleloflix.

Timed as a capping event to celebrate February as Hawaiian Language Month, Hawaiian language practitioners of all ages are invited to join the jam session at Hālau ʻĪnana, located at 2438 S. Beretania  Street, on Saturday, February 29 from 4 to 8 p.m.

“We are incredibly excited to announce ʻŌlelo Jam, a first of its kind collaborative event by Mana Studios and Purple Maiʻa that will transform Hālau ʻĪnana into a kīpuka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language island of life),” said Kalani Bright, CTO of Mana Studios. “We anticipate that a lot of families with kids who attend Hawaiian immersion schools will come out in force to nānā (see), kikokiko (keyboarding), and hoʻolohe (listen) to co-create close-captioned dialogue in the Hawaiian language. We are hearing from keiki about their favorite TV programs to choose a popular title at the Jam. We hope that both kumu and haumāna come. This is how we use language today.”

Participants will join workstations at the event to collaborate on fast-paced translations while other curated experiences will engage keiki to kūpuna in a demonstration of technologies such as online Hawaiian language resources, learning software or games that allow users to apply their Hawaiian language skills. Code Haumāna will teach coding as a language via a game activity.

Additionally, DJ Mermaid will be jamming sounds to keep the excitement flowing and a festive pāʻina is planned at the end to celebrate progress to the goal of getting a feature-length film ready to be enjoyed in the Hawaiian language in under two hours.

Aupuni Palapala, a K-12 teacher in-service grant program at UH Mānoa College of Education and Hale Kuamoʻo, UH Hilo’s Hawaiian Language multimedia powerhouse, has partnered with Mana Studios and will be present at the Jam. Interested participants can register at Eventbrite (bit.ly/olelojam). Qualifying public school teachers who participate can receive a stipend if this is a work-related PD learning activity.