The Navigators – Pathfinders of the Pacific

Snyder Reviewdvd

Available on amazon.com or from the author at Samfilm2@gmail.com
Produced and written by Sam Low
Original release 1983, restored and remastered 2013
DVD, 59 minutes


More than 1,000 years ago the islands of Polynesia were inhabited by an ancient seafaring people. Where did they come from and how did they get there?

Filmmaker Sam Low has tried to tell their story in his recently published book, Hawaiki Rising in great detail. Now he brings alive, once again, the story of these navigators through their descendants in his remastered and restored film, The Navigators.

The documentary is filled with scholarly commentary, beautiful footage on and off the water and an intimate portrait of master navigator Mau Piailug as he sails the voyaging canoe Hokule’a from Hawaii to Tahiti in 1976, navigating only by the stars, wind, and waves.

Since it’s first release in 1983, The Navigators has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Margaret Mead Film Festival (1983) and the Hawaii Book and Music Festival in 2013. Already a classic documentary, The Navigators is a perfect companion to Low’s book, Hawaiki Rising.

By Ocean Navigator