My name is John Corcoran. I am 21 years old, and I am a videographer and musician. My friend Julian Williams (surfer) and I collaborated on this project to create a visually and emotionally moving piece. It is titled Water Is Life and explores how the same water that rises from the earth feeds the land and the food we eat, then flows into the rivers and eventually into the ocean. This water carries energy and life, and the way we treat the land is a direct reflection of how alive the water is.

Julian and I both live on the North Shore of O‘ahu. He was born and raised there and is half Hawaiian. The script follows ancient Hawaiian proverbs, along with Julian’s own poetry and story.

I wrote, produced, and performed all of the music for the film—something I had never done before—and it was an amazing journey. I also filmed everything over the past couple of months specifically for this project.

Thank you so much for an incredible contest.

Much love,

John and Julian