A little awards gala in NYC

Our main purpose for being in New York last week was to attend an awards gala for the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Ta’u had been chosen as one of the award winners for a grant that will provide the funds for us to begin production of the documentary we have been developing called Eating Up Easter. You can find more info and the full trailer for our video on the Eating Up Easter Blog. The film will look at the rapid development of Easter Island in the last ten years as we follow four characters each concerned with the future of the island in different ways. We will also look at how the islanders adapted to their changing environment in the past and the ways in which this knowledge can inform present day plans for sustainability.

The gala was held for the foundation’s largest donors and was a bit out of our comfort zone, dining with New York high society and all….so we just called it our Halloween. These were our costumes…Ta’u had to arrive at the gala a few hours before me, to rehearse walking on stage, to take photos with Princess Charlene, and to get his award, a beautiful little pin symbolizing the three arts that Princess Grace supports – film, theater, and dance. Please excuse the terrible dark iphone photos from the night….we decided not to accessorize with a big clunky camera. When I arrived to meet Ta’u, people were mingling and eating fancy passed appetizers. I was hanging out with another “awardee wife” and her 10-year old daughter while his photo session dragged on and on and I accidentally encouraged the 10-year old to eat caviar because it was so dark in the room I mistook it for a blackberry with cream, on top of a cracker. Whoops. She was also a vegan. Double whoops. New life experience for her. While I was waiting in that crowd, Ta’u was doing things like taking photos with a princess. The Princess Grace Foundation was founded after the death of Princess Grace Kelly, the actress who married the Prince of Monaco. She was always a huge supporter of the arts, so after her death they established the foundation to continue her legacy. Now some of her children (two daughters and a son) make appearances from time to time in support of it. This year, Prince Albert (her son) couldn’t make it, so only his wife came, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco (what a title!). She just married into the family in the last year or two, and you could tell she was a bit nervous at the event, but she did a great job considering she’s still mastering the whole princess thing (and trying to live up to that title). She’s the one in the middle with the Elizabethan-like neck collar. Look who stood right next to her looking so chill….Finally, as they were forcing us to our seats so they could start the program, Ta’u finished the photos and was able to join me. Can I just take a moment to say how proud I am of him? His passion for producing content about his community and the issues it is facing is finally becoming a reality, built on all of the hard hard work he has put into creating and producing for film and television over the last 13 years. I couldn’t be more excited to watch, and get to work side by side with him, as he makes this dream our reality.During dinner they presented Statue awards (career achievement awards) to a documentary filmmaker and a dancer. Jennifer Grant, Cary Grant’s daughter, was one of the presenters.  The food was excellent considering it was served simultaneously for 650 people and it included sea scallops and a warm croissant roll, melt-in-your-mouth-tender beef with brussels sprouts and sweet potato, and a to-die-for chocolate lava cake.  We were satisfied.Wendy Levy, the documentary filmmaker who won the statue award, was such an inspiration to us. We had a fantastic conversation with her afterward that really got us fired up about getting the doc rolling, and all the ways in which we could continue the conversation our doc begins across other media and live platforms. The documentary is not our only platform for creating change and dialogue, it is just a beginning. My favorite quote of hers from the night was “Failing is what you do on your way to making a difference.” We sat with some of the other film and theater award winners….all fantastic people working on projects that we are so excited to see come into being. Way beyond getting funding for our documentary, the true gift of this award was getting to come to this event and connect with so many people doing similar things, all just as energized and passionate about the work as we are.Finally, toward the end of dinner, Ta’u went on stage with the other film awardees to be acknowledged for his award. The actress Michael Michele, who played a Dr. on ER, introduced all of the filmmakers. They showed a quick clip of everyone’s work, including the end of our Eating up Easter trailer, and then they introduced each awardee….here a quick video of it. Unfortunately I didn’t get Ta’u’s bow, because I got too excited and put down the phone to clap for him.

Then, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco (I just really like saying that whole name), presented the lifetime achievement award named after her father-in-law (Princess Grace’s Husband), the Prince Rainier III Award. This award was given to Cicely Tyson, who has acted in The Help, Fried Green Tomatoes, and many many other film and theater productions. She was amazing. Some of the theater awardees with Ta’u. And, he met another Punahou grad (they’re everywhere!)…..the foundation’s dance panel chair, Bonnie Homsey.After dinner there was some dancing….and some especially good dancing by all the dance awardees. And that was that. We survived our first gala, we met so many incredible people, and best of all, our passion for getting this project done was renewed beyond measure. We are gearing up to head to Easter Island next week to start our first half of production and we couldn’t be more excited. We are bringing a cinematographer and all….it’s happening! Can’t wait to post updates on our progress. Wish us luck! photo credits: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for the photo of Ta’u with HSH Princess Charlene of Monaco. All other images are our own.