Our Story

In 2016, Honolulu journalist Diane Ako was searching for information about her Hawaiian matriarch, Helen Maliu.

Diane had taken over the task from her cousin Paul Carrubba, who had exhaustively combed archives from the late 1990s through the early 2000s on the West Coast where he lives. He hoped Diane, as a Hawaiʻi resident, could find new information to add to their research.

She wrote a blog about the family’s search…and within minutes received information that changed how she thought about her family’s history — and confirmed some of her worst fears.

At the same time, Atlanta-based producer Martha Shade read the article. The former coworker and longtime friend of Diane’s thought the search would make a compelling story.

Finally, ten years later, the duo was able to coordinate schedules to shoot and produce the story of Pili Hou: Finding Helen.

Journey with us over the sea and back in time as Diane and her relatives find a connection to their lost ancestor - why she left, who she left behind, and where she went.

It’s a story of love and loss, of finding and never forgetting. Interwoven in this personal story is the broader tale of a dark chapter of Hawaiʻi history, and what we as a society have learned since then. Above all, it’s about the power of ʻohana [family] to bridge the gap of time and space to pili hou — reconnect — with aloha.