Members from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) were featured in the new documentary KULEANA, which premiered at the 45th Hawaiʻi International Film Festival (HIFF) on October 23, 2025.
Contributing to the film were several leading oceanographers from SOEST including Jeff Drazen (professor), Jamison Gove (alumni and research affiliate), Nikolai Maximenko (senior researcher), Margaret McManus (chairwoman of the Department of Oceanography and director of the Uehiro Center for the Advancement of Oceanography), and Jonathan Whitney (alumni, former postdoctoral researcher, and research affiliate); and a scientist at JABSOM’s Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research, Rodrigo Weingrill. The UH Mānoa experts joined filmmakers, professional athletes, and community partners at the festival for the premiere of KULEANA.
Weingrill was selected for the film for his research on microplastics, including studies showing an accumulation of microplastics in human placentas in Hawaiʻi. The film highlights that plastic pollution has become a human health concern.
A central scene follows professional surfer Kai Lenny as Weingrill’s team tests his blood, finding 33 microplastic particles in just 2 milliliters. With an average adult having about five liters of blood, Weingrill estimated that Lenny would have “around 80,000 particles in all his blood.”
Related UH News story: Rise of microplastics discovered in placentas of Hawaiʻi mothers
“I think the message is to educate our communities to prevent this exposure,” Weingrill said. He suggested making small lifestyle changes such as using glass or stainless-steel containers instead of plastic, to reduce how much plastic we take in every day.
Reflecting on his experience being featured in the film, he added, “I never expected that, I never wished that, to tell you the truth. I always wanted to do good science to help people.” He credited collaborators Johann Urschitz, Men-Jean Lee, Steve Ward and the Department of OB-GYN & Women’s Health for supporting the research.
“We’re trying to do something good for everybody and that’s the everyday goal—to help our communities, to help our people, to have a healthier life, live longer and have a really happy everyday routine,” he said.
KULEANA was directed and produced by Georgia Scott and narrated by Woody Harrelson. HIFF will also screen the documentary on November 1, at Kauaʻi Community College and on November 9 and 15, on Maui.
“KULEANA powerfully captures how plastic pollution is infiltrating the lives of ocean animals, with Hawaiʻi standing at an epicenter of this global crisis,” said Whitney, marine ecologist at NOAA, who co-led a study with Gove and McManus showing that prey-sized plastics are invading larval fish nurseries. “Our research revealed an invisible threat at the foundation of ocean food webs, and it’s an honor to collaborate with talented filmmakers who can bring these scientific stories to life for the world to see.”
