Cris Romento

Cris Romento is a Native Hawaiian–Mexican filmmaker whose work centers healing through storytelling, cultural resilience, and Indigenous joy. After her family was “priced out of paradise” during her childhood and relocated to Washington State, she returned to Oʻahu three decades later to direct DEAR ALOHA, an award-winning documentary about the displacement of Hawaiians, now streaming on PBS.Through trauma-informed community screenings, DEAR ALOHA has connected Pacific Islanders across the United States with vital mental health resources. For this work, Cris received the Seattle International Film Festival’s Courageous Filmmaking Grant and the Firelight Media Impact Campaign Fund. Her films have screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals and reached audiences worldwide with support from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Pacific Islanders in Communications, and leading AAPI organizations.Cris’s background spans entertainment media, television news, and documentary post-production throughout the United States. Prior to filmmaking, she worked in brand storytelling in the Middle East and as a freelance editor and director in New York City.She is currently developing new films about the Hawaiian diaspora, creating media that centers social justice, and building digital spaces that foster belonging and collective care.

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ABOUT DEAR ALOHA

Dear Aloha is a heartfelt story of the meaning of aloha through the lives of Diasporic Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest, and how it sustains them across distance, loss, and longing. Meanwhile, in Hawai‘i, locals confront the lasting impact of colonization that has Hawaiians disappearing from their homeland.

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