GOVERNOR LINGLE TO HOST PREMIERE SCREENING OF COUSTEAU’S “VOYAGE TO KURE”
For Immediate Release: March 6, 2006
HONOLULU — Governor Linda Lingle will host Hawai`i’s first screening of “Voyage to Kure,” a documentary film following the journey of noted ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau up the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) chain. The advance screening, by-invitation-only, will be held on March 14 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Washington Place.
The historic former home of Hawai`i’s last reigning monarch, Queen Lili`uokalani, will be transformed for the occasion into a theatre to treat guests to a sneak preview of the “Voyage to Kure.” Produced by the Ocean Futures Society and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) affiliate KQED of San Francisco, “Voyage to Kure” will air on PBS and KHET on April 5 and 12 at 8:00 p.m.
“Voyage to Kure” will lead off the first season of Cousteau’s new Ocean Adventures series, following Cousteau and his team on their 32-day expedition of July/August 2003 to visit 10 islands and atolls that form one of the most remote places on earth. Cousteau is scheduled to attend the screening.
The idea for the screening emerged during the Governor’s first visit to Midway Atoll in December as part of her Administration’s efforts to establish the NWHI as a marine refuge. The Governor was joined by Cousteau and a delegation of state and federal officials including Jim Connaughton, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Sen. Fred Hemmings; Peter Young, chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and Dan Basta, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuary Program.
“The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands region is Hawai`i’s gift not only to our residents, but to the global community as a world-class natural and cultural treasure,” said Governor Lingle. “It’s our generation’s obligation — indeed, it’s our opportunity — to protect this legacy and to pass it on to future generations intact.” The Governor said she hopes the “Voyage to Kure” screening will better acquaint viewers in Hawai`i and around the world with the Hawaiian Archipelago that most people don’t even know exists.
The documentary aims to fill that knowledge gap, Cousteau said, by providing “a remarkable glimpse of an ecosystem largely untainted by human interaction, yet still impacted by the modern world far beyond the horizon.” Viewers will be transported on a journey to the largely inaccessible region, so they too can encounter what the explorer terms “a paradox in paradise.” “We studied and filmed a realm that is thriving in many respects, but is perched on a very precarious balance between boundless diversity and ominous destruction,” said Cousteau.
“We are grateful to Governor Lingle, as well as Sam Choy, Jeffrey Mora and other chefs who have graciously stepped forward to create this special screening, and certainly to Jean-Michel and PBS Hawai`i for creating the opportunity to raise awareness and support for the lasting benefit of these living resources,” said Dan Basta.
“Governor Lingle's support for arts and culture in Hawai`i, not to mention environmental protection, is wonderful and important,” said Chuck Boller, executive director, Hawai`i International Film Festival.
PBS Hawai`i will broadcast the entire Ocean Adventures series beginning April 5 at 8 p.m. The last two segments will focus on America’s Underwater Treasures, bringing viewers into the rarely visited underwater parks that constitute the National Marine Sanctuary System.
“The future of this place is such an important issue, and is now in the process of being decided,” said Mike McCartney, president and chief executive officer of PBS Hawai`i. “We are committed to doing all we can to help our viewers learn and care about this special place, and hopefully become motivated to get engaged in this critical discussion.”
PBS Hawai`i will produce an episode of their weekly public affairs program “Island Insights” discussing issues impacting the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, to air in conjunction with “Voyage to Kure.”
Jurisdictional authorities in the NWHI region are the State of Hawai`i, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.
Governor Lingle and the State of Hawai`i have demonstrated strong support for the protection of the NWHI over the past year. In September 2005, Governor Lingle established a State Marine Refuge in the NWHI that set aside all State waters as a limited access, no-take marine protected area. This created the largest marine conservation area in the history of the State, protecting 1,026 square miles of coral reefs from the shoreline to three miles offshore.
The Governor has publicly expressed support for the sanctuary process and an organized phase-out of commercial fishing in federal waters to make both state and federal waters closed to fishing, to create the largest protected marine area in the world. In addition, the State of Hawai`i is also advocating the designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a United Nations World Heritage site.
Encompassing 134,576 square miles of area, the reserve is the single largest conservation area – marine or terrestrial — under the U.S. flag. It was established in 2001 by Executive Orders to help conserve these extensive, still-healthy coral reef ecosystems. A public process is underway to designate the reserve as the country’s 14th national marine sanctuary, to secure long-term, comprehensive protection for the marine region.
The advance screening, by-invitation only, is sponsored by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, and PBS Hawai`i, in partnership with the National Marine Sanctuary Program, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, Ocean Futures Society, and the State of Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources.
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For more information, contact:
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor –
Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708
Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043
