Ciara Leinaʻala Lacy’s new short, her first animated film, is a magical take on a touching, true story about the island nation’s last ruling monarch, known for her kindness, spare candy, and ever-present butterfly brooch, overthrown and imprisoned by U.S.-led forces in 1893, and a young girl who used to sneak into the Queen’s garden to steal the beautiful flowers.
Most Hawaiian adults knew her as Queen Liliʻuokalani, the only queen regent and last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
But the children of that time knew her as the lady with the spare candy, recognized by her iconic, ever-present butterfly brooch.
“There’s a dress of hers on display at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and it says that dress had a ‘candy pocket’ because she loved children so much,” shares Ciara Leinaʻala Lacy, a multiple award-winning native Hawaiian filmmaker. “She was what a liberated woman looked like in the Victorian era. I’ve seen young women here put butterflies with her name on their jackets. There’s so much reverence for this woman and her legacy.”
Lacy, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and inaugural Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellow is known for her documentaries like PBS’ Out of State and Netflix’s Is That Black Enough For You?!?. Lacy has also consulted for Ubisoft, Pixar, and Quibi and her work has been supported by Sundance, Tribeca, the Princess Grace Foundation, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, Pacific Islanders in Communications and Firelight Media. Her latest short film project, The Queen’s Flowers, focused on Queen Liliʻuokalani, marks her first step into animation. The film has made the Oscar's long list for consideration in the coming awards voting.
The film, a magical take on a true story, chronicles the journey of Emma, a Native Hawaiian girl attending a Christian school in 1915 Honolulu. As the school prepares to host a concert in honor of the last monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili`uokalani, Emma sets out to make a special gift for the queen, using crown flowers from the Queen’s nearby home garden. The short is available to watch below:
“This is something I’ve always wanted to do but never had the opportunity,” says Lacy, referring to both the film’s focus and fantastical medium. “When we think of the Queen, we think of pressure points in Hawaii’s history, like her overthrow and subsequent imprisonment. But we get to tell this beautiful story of the Queen in a different way and as a lovely reminder of who she was.”
Though the film does address the Queen’s overthrow by the American-led forces in 1893, the main focus of the film is on the lighthearted nature of a young child, proud of her heritage, who wishes to honor her Queen, while also trying to avoid getting in trouble with her nun teachers for staying up past curfew.
With research conducted through Bishop Museum Archives’ head archivist DeSoto Brown, as well as Rianna M. Williams and Hawaii State Archives’ Dr. Ronald Williams Jr, The Queen’s Flowers is true, it’s sincere and, yes, sad at times. But the film is, like Liliʻuokalani herself, mostly joyous and hopeful. After all, Her Majesty agreed to give up her thrown for the safety of her people, believing that one day, her kingdom would be restored. That hope lasted until her final days.
“I started reading about the Queen before I met Ciara and by the time I met her, I was already in love,” says Concepcion (“Connie”) Saucedo-Trejo, producer of The Queen’s Flowers who first connected with Lacy on the film festival circuit. “Hawaii’s been my home since 2005 and I started taking hula classes to learn about the culture, which is when my teacher told our class about how her grandmother went to the school next door to the Queen. When her family asked her, ‘Did you ever meet the Queen?’ my teacher’s grandmother would sassily look around and say, ‘I used to steal her flowers.’ The idea of a little girl, sneaking into the Queen’s garden to take buds that she’d then gift back to her as a lei was a beautiful story that just embodies who Hawaiian people are. They love to give love.”
The Queen’s Flowers shows that, while the Hawaiian Kingdom may not have been restored physically, it still resides in the hearts of its people.
“This film is a story about two people – a woman and a young girl – both of whom have had their dreams crushed and who both chose to not give up,” says executive producer Dean Hamer, who also directed two other award-winning Hawaii-focused animated shorts: Kapaemahu and Aikane. “And within that story is incorporated the background history. I think that’s way more effective than just teaching a series of dry facts. This makes it a part of people’s lives.”
That’s certainly been the case for animation director Daniel Sousa, whose whole family has gotten to contribute to his animations for the film.
“My wife Liz has been my compass in a way,” shares Sousa, who also worked with Hamer on Kapaemahu and Aikane. “She’s a visual artist with a good eye for composition and color. She also ended up doing the graphic design for the film’s title. Then there’s my daughter who also did temporary voice work for Emma’s character.”
The film, created in 2D, is also reflective of Hawaii’s vibrant flora and magical atmosphere. Though taking place in real locations with real people, the young girl’s butterfly companion and the Queen’s glittery golden transformation at the end of the film are fantastical elements added to portray the wonder and imagination of a child.
“While I was making the film, my daughter Alina would watch the animation every week,” shares Sousa. “The target audience is my daughter, and she was a real critic. Of course, I would get notes from Ciara as well, but Alina did not mince words. She always told me when facial expressions were unclear or wrong. But she really loved the connection between Emma’s character and the butterfly who becomes her friend.”
In Hawaii, butterflies don’t just represent the brooch their former Queen wore every day. Butterflies are also seen as an “aumakua” or a “natural manifestation of your ancestors,” in Lacy’s words. It’s a fitting symbol to remember Liliʻuokalani, who passed away in 1917. And Emma Pollock, the actual name of the woman who used to take the Queen’s flowers, receives a note of dedication in the film’s credits.
“It was a pleasure to bring her family to the Hawaii International Film Festival screening and to have them see this story about their grandmother so many years after her passing,” says Lacy. “I think it was really beautiful for them.”
The film’s final sequences also reflect a sense of nostalgia and community among not only Her Majesty and the school children, but with the nuns as well. It’s a community of women, of all ages and backgrounds, coming together. The Queen was recorded to be a devout Christian, with many of the local churches and their leaders having great respect for Liliʻuokalani. But her faith also did not hinder the Queen’s passion for Hawaii traditions and costumes, such as the gift of a lei to show love and respect or playful Hawaiian music.
“Hawaiians are very inclusive, as was our Queen, and we honor that in the film,” shares Lacy. “At one point, she was even able to sit at a table with the men who overthrew her nation. These values of generosity, of forgiveness, they seem so simple but, thinking about where we are in the world today, we truly need them.”
She continues, “This is also something that informs the style of my filmmaking and it informs Hawaii’s very language. If you break down the etymology of “Aloha,” “Alo” is your face and “ha” is the breath from your nose. Hawaiians believe the breath from your nose is pure, because you can’t say bad things or curse with the breath from your nose, which is why we often share kisses nose-to-nose. And Aloha is the verbal expression of that. And, with every film I do, I want audiences to feel like they’re experiencing that generosity, that love, that kiss nose-to-nose.
As the child presents the flowers to the Queen at the end of the film, the children also sing a real song Queen Liliʻuokalani wrote. The song, “He Inoa Nō Kaʻiulani,” comes from The Queen’s Songbook, a treasured collection of the many songs she composed. It is sung by students at Kamehameha Schools, which was founded by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last royal descendant of the Kamehameha line. The Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus has been led by Choir Director Lynell Bright since 1989 and, in the fall of 2001, the chorus recorded two songs for the Disney animated hit movie Lilo & Stitch and have also made several recordings for the Disney Aulani hotel, and Disney’s Frozen Christmas special.
In English, the “He Inoa Nō Kaʻiulani” chorus reads:
“Well, now the lady is so pretty,
Here now, dwelling in tranquility.
My, how she has become so beautiful,
A flower that her nation embraces
with pride.”
“We’re highlighting the resilience of the Hawaiian people and how they’re able to persevere no matter what duress comes to them,” says Saucedo-Trejo. “There are no flowers? I’m going to go get them and honor somebody that I love. You’re taking my kingdom for reasons I do not understand? I’m going to let you in order to protect my people. That message is important, and I think it’s an understanding the world could use right now.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
