HONOLULU (KHON2) — The first season of Jason Momoa’s “Chief of War” premieres Friday on Apple TV+.
The show follows the story of Chief Ka’iana, and has been praised by fans, critics, and locals alike, holding an approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The success of “Chief of War” and other Hawaiian-related film projects that premiered throughout the summer has brought a lot of attention to Hawaiian culture.
“Lilo and Stitch, that also came out this year. Things entirely shot here in Hawaii, showing iconic Hawaii locations, featuring Hawaii actors, which is fantastic,” said Mericia Palma Elmore, Executive Director of Hawaii SAG AFTRA. “All of this together, this was a great summer for showing the world some things that can come out of Hawaii.”
As Hawaii becomes an increasingly popular topic on the big and small screens, the Hawaii Tourism Authority believes that the islands can serve as a great destination for future filmmaking projects.
“We can offer things that only Hawaii can offer, certainly the backdrops, the beauty, the people are a big part of that,” said Director James Tokioka of the Department of Business, Economic and Development. “Our industry is top-notch, we have people who work in the industry now from all of the different sectors of the industry.”
While Chief of War is a story straight from Hawaii’s history, it was primarily filmed in New Zealand. But for any future projects that want to call Hawaii home, the HTA is working with the legislature to make that happen.
“We’re going to be putting in a bill that includes film production tourism as part of the marketing of Hawaii through HTA,” said Tokioka. “We want to make sure that Hawaii is on the map when it comes to films, because we all know when people watch films, they connect it to Hawaii at some point.”
“Whether they’re watching a golf tournament with whales jumping out of the water or a film with Jason Momoa,” Tokioka continued.