Hawaii: Living on the Edge in Paradise?

Was the largest eruption of Kilauea in 200 years an act of creation or destruction? The Hawaiian peoples' resilience and cultural unity is a lesson in the true spirit of Aloha.

During the summer of 2018, hundreds of earthquakes shook the summit of Kīlauea, leading to the active volcano’s largest eruption in 200 years. Lava totaling 1 billion cubic yards—enough to fill at least 320,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools—inundated 13.7 square miles of the island, destroying 716 dwellings and covering 30 miles of road. For some residents it was catastrophic. Hawaiians see it as the goddess Pele’s way of creating new 'āina (land), 875 acres in total.

  • Maria Luskay
    Director
  • Lou Guarneri
    Director
  • Maria Luskay
    Executive Producer
  • Rachel Skopp-Cardillo
    Assistant Producer
  • Joseph Gonzalez
    Location Assistant Directors
  • Luke Piccoli
    Location Assistant Directors
  • Blake Rozelle
    Location Assistant Directors
  • Dev Stafford
    Location Assistant Directors
  • Jason Zhizphon
    Location Assistant Directors
  • Ashley Rose DeSalvo
    Production Manager
  • Christina Bubba, Eric Carosella, Akiyah S. Chester, Mico Coluccio, Briana Cuttino, Ashley Rose DeSalvo, Will Giuseffi, Joseph Gonzalez, Sydney T. Krantz, Meiting Liu, Brian McDermott, Luke Piccoli, Blake Rozelle, Rachel Skopp-Cardillo, Dev Stafford, Kaitlyn Talenti, Imani Williams, Alec Zawadzki, Jason Zhizhpon, and Simon Ziff
    Shot on location in Hawaii-Camera, Lighting, Sound
  • Mico Coluccio, Lou Guarneri, and Jason Zhizphon
    Drone Operators
  • Joseph Gonzalez, Blake Rozelle, Dev Stafford, and Jason Zhizphon
    Gimbal Operators
  • Joseph Gonzalez
    Equipment Manager
  • Rachel Skopp-Cardillo
    Post-Production Managers
  • Dev Stafford
    Post-Production Managers
  • Dev Stafford
    Lead Edtior
  • Joseph Gonzalez, Luke Piccoli, Blake Rozelle, and Rachel Skopp-Cardillo
    Assistant Editors
  • Mico Coluccio, Will Giuseffi, Sydney T. Krantz, Alec Zawadzki, and Jason Zhizhpon
    Additional Editors
  • Alec Zawadzki
    Pre-Production Research Lead
  • Christina Bubba, Eric Carosella, Akiyah S. Chester, Briana Cuttino, Ashley Rose DeSalvo, Meiting Liu, Brian McDermott, Kaitlyn Taleni, Imani Williams, and Simon Ziff
    Assistant Story Editors
  • Rachel Skopp-Cardillo
    Colorist
  • Joseph Gonzalez & Blake Rozelle
    Sound Editing and Mixing
  • Rachel Skopp-Cardillo
    Media Mangers
  • Dev Stafford
    Media Mangers
  • Sydney T. Krantz, Luke Piccoli, Max Vuolle, & Jason Zhizphon
    Animation & Graphics Designers
  • Jason Zhizphon
    Titles
  • Ryan A. Milan
    Poster Title & Artwork
  • Eric Carosella, Akiyah S. Chester, Meiting Liu, Brian McDermott, and Kaitlyn Talenti
    Production Assistants
  • Rachel Skopp-Cardillo
    Closing Credits
  • Dev Stafford
    Closing Credits
  • Eric Carosella, Briana Cuttino, Blake Rozelle
    Social Media Managers
  • Christina Bubba, Mico Coluccio, Will Giuseffi, and Kaitlyn Talenti
    Blog Editing Team
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Student
  • Runtime:
    35 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 7, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K, 24 frames per second
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:0
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Pace University
  • Michael Schimmel Center-Hawaii: Living on the Edge of Paradise?
    New York, New York
    United States
    May 8, 2019
    Michael Schimmel Center
  • Jacob Burns Film Center- Hawaii: Living on the Edge of Paradise?
    Pleasantville, New York
    United States
    May 7, 2019
    Jacob Burns Film Center
Director Biography - Maria Luskay, Lou Guarneri

Dr. Maria T. Luskay: Professor Luskay leads the Media and Communication Arts travel documentary course at Pace University in Pleasantville, New York. The Producing the Documentary course is a well-regarded, award-winning program at Pace. It has provided opportunities for many undergraduate and graduate students to broaden their knowledge and skill set in the areas of communications, research, and production. This marks the 16th year that Dr. Luskay has been teaching this course and this is the 16th documentary from that course.

Lou Guarneri: Professor Guarneri is a Pace alum and video production professor within the Media Communications and Visual Arts department in Pleasantville, New York. While this is the first year Lou is helping run the class, he has been involved in the class for years as a student, and as a post-production consultant.

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