Filipe Zapelini
Spring 2019
Honolulu, Oʻahu Hawaiʻi
Brazilian filmmaker Filipe Zapelini is currently in residence with TRADES working on a film about local record label Aloha Got Soul. This residency arose from our ongoing collaboration with local artists Roger and Leimomi Bong (aka Aloha Got Soul and/or Central Pacific Time.) A documentary project begun spontaneously in December 2016 by 3 filmmakers from Brazil (Pedro Ramos, Pedru Carvalho, and New York-based Zapelini), the film explores their interest in the genres Aloha Got Soul highlights—70’s and 80’s Hawai‘i-made funk and soul.
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Roger proposed bringing Filipe Zapelini back to Hawai‘i as a TRADES resident to complete filming—adding missing narratives and rounding out the story. A labor of love between all participants, thus far the project had progressed without outside support or funding. We felt this was an ideal opportunity to support our local community by furthering the production through Filipe’s residency. In Roger’s words, the documentary “will make the world aware of the diversity of music made and still being made in Hawai‘i, and in ways that can’t be expressed … in words. A lot of the story is going to revolve around the musicians, their experiences, and ultimately, their life’s purpose. It talks about life, spirit, aloha, and it talks about the music, too.” (Halekulani Living, Vol. 9-1)
Roger proposed bringing Filipe Zapelini back to Hawai‘i as a TRADES resident to complete filming—adding missing narratives and rounding out the story. A labor of love between all participants, thus far the project had progressed without outside support or funding. We felt this was an ideal opportunity to support our local community by furthering the production through Filipe’s residency. In Roger’s words, the documentary “will make the world aware of the diversity of music made and still being made in Hawai‘i, and in ways that can’t be expressed … in words. A lot of the story is going to revolve around the musicians, their experiences, and ultimately, their life’s purpose. It talks about life, spirit, aloha, and it talks about the music, too.” (Halekulani Living, Vol. 9-1)