Kapulei Flores

Standing Above the Clouds follows Native Hawaiian mother-daughter activists as they stand to protect their sacred mountain Mauna Kea from the building of the world’s largest telescope.

Born on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula on Moloka‘i—once a forced isolation settlement for people with Hansen’s Disease—Lindamae was taken from her mother at birth and placed for adoption. Her story mirrors that of many children of Kalaupapa, torn from their families in a system that erased identities and silenced voices. As Lindamae reunites with her birth family and seeks answers, her journey exposes the historical trauma of forced separation, colonial exploitation, and cultural erasure in Hawai‘i.