FOR PARTNERS
A platform built on curatorial credibility.
Maui Stream isn't a catalog. It's a curated film space — operated by Akakū Maui Community Media, populated by trusted local curators, supported by an editorial AI that amplifies (never replaces) human taste. Five ways to be part of it.
01 — FILMMAKERS70% of every rental, paid the moment it happens.
If you make films in Hawaiʻi, Maui Stream is your distribution channel. You set the price, you keep 70%, and Stripe routes the money to your bank in real time — not at the end of the month with mystery deductions.
70% — FILMMAKER
Routes directly to the filmmaker via Stripe Connect, in real time on every rental.
30% — PLATFORM
Payment processing, video delivery, paid critics, Akakū overhead.
- →Set your own price. $1.99 to $14.99.
- →Stripe Connect Express setup, ~5 minutes. No business entity required.
- →Pay-to-film + mahalo. Write a personal thank-you sent to viewers in the rental confirmation email.
- →Open submissions for HI-resident filmmakers in Fall 2026. WFF and Hisako filmmakers are onboarded earlier as part of curated partnerships.
02 — FESTIVALSYour festival, year-round.
For organizations like the Wailuku Film Festival, the Honolulu Film Festival, and future Maui festivals: extend the reach of your one-week event into a permanent home, generate revenue from the long tail, and give your filmmakers a year-round audience.
How it works
FESTIVAL PARTNERSHIP
Your organizers curate a playlist on Maui Stream — full creative control over what enters and how it's presented. Films stay available for rental year-round. Filmmakers keep 70%. The festival earns from an optional Festival Pass — a flat-fee monthly subscription granting access to your entire lineup — and from a curator share on platform revenue.
- →Festival Pass model. Viewers can rent individual films, or buy a flat-fee pass (e.g., $19.99) for 30 days of access to the entire festival.
- →Curator share. Festival earns a percentage of platform revenue from films in their playlist. Specific share negotiated per festival.
- →Filmmakers keep 70%. Same direct-to-creator economics whether the rental came from a pass or per-film purchase.
- →Annual playlists. A new festival playlist drops every year. Past years stay accessible — your festival's archive becomes a permanent cultural resource.
03 — EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMSReal economic outcomes for student filmmakers.
For programs like Hisako Film Lab, Maui Stream is what comes after the screening event. Each cohort's films become rentals on the platform — proceeds flow back to the program itself, funding scholarships, equipment, and the next cohort. Students see their work earn something real.
How it works
EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP
Your program creates a Stripe Connect account as the recipient (since students are typically minors). Each cohort releases as a curated drop — tied to your program calendar and screening events. Rental price set by you; $1.99 typical for student work. 100% of rental revenue routes to your nonprofit's account (no platform cut on educational programs — payment processing and video delivery fees only).
- →Cohort cadence. Quarterly drops aligned with your program schedule.
- →Student visibility. Each film credits the student creator publicly while routing money to the program.
- →Permanent platform. Cohort films stay accessible long after the screening. Family, friends, neighbors can rent any time.
- →Recurring fundraising. Every rental funds your next cohort, equipment, scholarships.
04 — STUDIOS & PRESENTERSYour imprint, on streaming.
For multi-media studios like Fuzz Box: your taste, your audience, your creative credibility — extended to streaming distribution. Films you back carry your imprint; your imprint carries weight.
How it works
STUDIO / PRESENTER PARTNERSHIP
You curate a "Presented by [Your Studio]" playlist. Filmmakers you back get the trust transfer of your imprint; you earn a curatorial share on every rental of films in your playlist. Filmmakers still keep 70%, the curator share comes out of the platform's portion. Effectively: you act as a record label for film.
- →Curatorial control. You decide which films enter your imprint.
- →Brand extension. Every film page in your playlist credits you. Every rental references your studio.
- →Curator share. Earn a percentage on every rental of films in your playlist, in addition to filmmakers' 70%.
- →Beyond film. Future support for trailers, multi-format content, and event-tied releases (a screening at your venue → a release on the platform same week).
05 — CAUSE-DRIVEN FILMS95% to the cause. Period.
For films explicitly raising funds for causes — Lahaina relief, environmental work, community benefit, cultural preservation — Maui Stream operates as a fundraising tool. The platform takes essentially nothing.
95% — FILMMAKER / CAUSE
Routes directly to the filmmaker or designated nonprofit via Stripe.
5% — PLATFORM
Payment processing and video delivery. Near-zero margin.
- →95% to the filmmaker or designated nonprofit. Stripe Connect routes funds directly to the cause's account.
- →5% covers payment processing and video delivery. Near-zero margin to the platform — this isn't a profit tier, it's a community service tier.
- →Cause attribution. Each rental confirmation tells the viewer where their money went. Running fundraising totals visible on the cause page.
- →Filmmaker self-declares + Akakū verifies. Cause designation is reviewed during submission to prevent abuse.
06 — THE CURATION LAYERStacked human curation, amplified by an editorial AI.
What sets Maui Stream apart isn't the catalog. It's the credibility of who chose what's in it.
- →Akakū curators approve every film and shape the editorial direction.
- →Festivals, programs, studios curate their own playlists with full creative control.
- →Paid film critics from the Maui & Hawaiʻi film community write reviews and curate themed playlists. Funded from the platform's 30% share.
- →An editorial AI amplifies what humans already curated — generating dynamic playlists ("Most Watched This Week," "Box Office Year-End"), polishing thin film descriptions, and surfacing trends. Never replaces human taste; never speaks to users like a chatbot.
Humans establish the credibility floor. AI animates what humans already chose. The platform stays curated, stays trustworthy, stays Maui-rooted.