Peace Festival : Healing Through Hula (Feature), Processing and Exonerated — San Quentin Film Festival & San Geronimo Valley Community Center

* Friday, September 18, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm 

The San Geronimo Valley Community Center’s International Day of Peace Festival weekend begins with a special screening of the documentary feature Healing Through Hula, presented by the San Quentin Film Festival. The film sets the tone for a weekend dedicated to exploring the many pathways to peace.

Directed by Louis Sále, Healing Through Hula tells the powerful story of Asian American and Pacific Islander men in prison who reconnect with their cultural heritage through the practice of hula. Drawing from his own lived experience, Sále chronicles a journey of healing and redemption that culminates in a moving Makahiki ceremonial ritual.

The original 10-minute version of the film was first screened at the inaugural San Quentin Film Festival (SQFF) in 2024, where it received the award for Best Documentary Short. The evening program will include two additional short films: Processing, a SQFF25 Short Film Finalist, directed by formerly incarcerated filmmaker, artist and musician Antwan Banks Williams and Exonerated, directed by incarcerated filmmaker Ernest “Ben Shua”Woods II.

Following the film, attendees are invited to stay for a panel discussion featuring director Antwan Williams and Demora Henderson, the subject of Exonerated, who was released in June and continues the struggle to overturn his wrongful conviction. The conversation will be moderated by the Community Center’s own Alexa Davidson.

Prior to the screening, at 5:30 pm guests are invited to enjoy a reception where the Lagunitas Middle School eighth-grade class will offer refreshments as a fundraiser for their Spring 2027 Civil Rights Field Trip.

Healing Through Hula begins at 6:30 pm sharp!