Backdrop image for movie Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege

Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2005)

Although the mountain volcano Mauna Kea last erupted around 4,000 years ago, it is still hot today, the center of a burning controversy over whether its summit should be used for astronomical observatories or preserved as a cultural landscape sacred to the Hawaiian people. For five years the documentary production team Nā Maka o ka 'Āina ("the eyes of the land") captured on video the seasonal moods of Mauna Kea's unique 14,000-foot summit, the richly varied ecosystems that extend from sea level to alpine zone, the legends and stories that reveal the mountain's geologic and cultural history, and the political turbulence surrounding the efforts to protect the most significant temple in the islands: the mountain itself.

  • Documentary

Top billed cast

  • Photo of PuhipauPuhipauNarrator (voice)
  • Photo of Manu Aluli MeyerManu Aluli MeyerHerself - Philosopher of Education
  • Photo of Keawe VredenburgKeawe VredenburgHimself
  • Photo of Sam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a GonSam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a GonHimself - Conservation Biologist
  • Photo of Kealoha PisciottaKealoha PisciottaHerself - Mauna Kea Anaina Hou
  • Photo of Nelson HoNelson HoHimself - Sierra Club
  • Photo of Paul NevesPaul NevesHimself - Royal Order of Kamehameha
  • Photo of Hanalei FergerstromHanalei FergerstromHimself
  • Photo of Reynolds Kamakawiwo'oleReynolds Kamakawiwo'oleHimself
  • Photo of Kahu o TerangiKahu o TerangiHimself

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