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.
Puhipau
as Narrator (voice)
Manu Aluli Meyer
as Herself - Philosopher of Education
Keawe Vredenburg
as Himself
Sam 'Ohukani'ōhi'a Gon
as Himself - Conservation Biologist
Kealoha Pisciotta
as Herself - Mauna Kea Anaina Hou
Nelson Ho
as Himself - Sierra Club
Paul Neves
as Himself - Royal Order of Kamehameha
Hanalei Fergerstrom
as Himself
Reynolds Kamakawiwo'ole
as Himself
Kahu o Terangi
as Himself
Pualani Kanahele
as Herself - Kumu Hula
Steve Hess
as Himself - USGS Biological Resources
