Lychee Thieves

In Hawai'i, the highly prized lychee tree blooms only once a year. Paranoid Arnie and Ethel vow to protect their fruit from lychee thieves...at any cost!


Arnie and Ethel's feelings of suspicion are stirred when a Hawaiian stranger named Keoki (Pomaika'i Brown, 50 First Dates) offers to harvest their lychee. When Arnie's selfish impulses drive him to hire professional pickers for the task instead, Keoki realizes that their lives are being dictated by fear, and attempts to set things right.


Lychee Thieves explores the humorous, and sometimes contentious, interactions among the culturally and ethnically diverse people of Hawai’i, prompting one critic to describe it as "the most accurate depiction of life in Hawai'i yet committed to film." Inventive dream sequences take us from the mystical valleys of Hawai’i to ancient China, where a smitten Emperor will stop at nothing to feed his lady’s lust for lychee.


Written and directed by award-winning local filmmaker Kathleen Man Gyllenhaal, Lychee Thieves features hi-definition cinematography by Independent Spirit Award Nominee, Anne Misawa (Treeless Mountain) and a haunting original score by German composer Emanuel Heinstein. The soundtrack also includes Hawaiian favorites by acclaimed musical artists Makana, Hapa, and Raiatea Helm. Showcasing a vibrant local cast, with a seasoned crew helmed by producer Angela Laprete, Lychee Thieves delights and inspires audiences around the globe.