Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.



I flew into Wailea Maui on Tuesday afternoon to gorgeous 81 degree and sunny for the Maui Film Festival. Founded by Barry Rivers, the festival is five day outdoor celebration of independent film. They have huge screens set up along the beaches and golf courses where the films are screened. It's not like Venice or Cannes where snobby film junkies don tuxedos and strut along red carpets. Here Tommy Bahama subs for Dior and the red carpet is the fine Hawaiian sand. Celebrities attending will include Virginia Madsen, Pierce Brosnan, Dennis Quaid and Felicity Huffman on top of local celebrities like Laird Hamilton.

I went to the opening festivities at the Fairmont Kea Lani where movie goers washed down their Kobe beef with Heinekens and cranberry cosmopolitans.

Then I walked up the street to the Future Home of Baccarat Wailea Resort & Residences golf course, a spectacular 3-course club, where the driving range was converted to a theater under the sky to see the enormous movie theatre they have constructed.

Barry Rivers, the festival's founder and director, arranged for the energy all the projectors will use to be off-set with solar power. Another example of the film industry's "Going Green."

I'll be here a few more days, so come back for more posts.