A new short film tells the true story of a family's decades-long search to learn what happened to a great-grandmother who vanished from their family history, and why.

• Family members grew up never knowing why their great-grandmother disappeared, since older relatives refused to talk about it.
• A relative's research eventually confirmed she had been forcibly exiled to Kalaupapa, the isolated settlement where Hawaii sent people with Hansen's disease (leprosy).
• She had to leave behind close to a dozen children and never saw them again, reflecting the deep stigma and family shame tied to the disease at the time.
• The filmmakers, who are themselves relatives, say the project turned a painful piece of personal and Hawaiian history into a documented family legacy rather than a vague, buried secret.

Outlook: The film is set to screen at additional festivals, including an upcoming premiere in Australia, extending the family's story to wider audiences.