Maui, Hawaii: Outdoor Film Festival Opens With a Breeze on Maui

Bottle Shock — the true story of the emergence of California wines on the world scene in 1976 — opened the Maui Film Festival at the outdoor Celestial Cinema on the Wailea Gold & Emerald Golf Course, playing to approximately 3,000 moviegoers on a 50-foot wide screen.

"This is the best location to screen your movie," said director Randy Miller. "You've got the clouds floating overhead, the outdoor movie screen is really bright, and the sound is good. You hear about these types of festivals in Europe, but not here. It's pretty cool."

Festival director Barry Rivers expected about 20,000 people across the various films and food events over the weekend. Now in its ninth year, the Maui Film Festival draws both island residents and a Hollywood crowd — and has no trouble attracting luminaries to receive awards for their artistic contributions.