Angelique Kalani Axelrode

L’Apprenante is an American college student in the process of “finding herself abroad” in Paris. She takes French classes to immerse herself in the culture, even though her accent is tragique. In one particular class, she struggles to recount her weekend where she goes to a Parisian party and meets La Femme; a girl she is immediately drawn to.

Two sisters, Gigi and Angi, sit silently in the car on the way to surf, refusing to speak to each other. Their tiff continues as they get ready to paddle out. As tension builds, the narrative shifts to a dance inspired by the story of Hi‘iakaikapoliopele and her older sister, Pele. When the tumultuous journey of Pele and Hi‘iaka comes to a close and the two reconcile, Gigi and Angi reconnect to each other and enjoy their morning surf.

Through layers of space, time and memory across the ocean and ʻāina (land) on Maui, a diasporic Kānaka (Hawaiian) remembers how to connect back to themselves, their family and their lover.