Eleni Avendaño

This Film is a documentary film about the legacy of Hawaiian women Buddhists beginning with the life of Mary Mikahala Robinson Foster, lady in waiting to Queen Liliʻuokalani. While many have visited Foster Botanical Gardens in Honolulu, little has been known of her work to perpetuate the practice of Buddhism, even beyond Hawaiʻi, where she is revered in India and Sri Lanka for her contributions.

For the first time on film, 80-year-old Hawai‘i civil rights pioneer and Filipina activist Amy Agbayani gives voice to her own history, which in turn traces landmark events in the story of social justice in Hawai‘i. Her advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom and broader community serves as a lesson in persistence for the next generation of activists who hope to fight systemic racism and discrimination.