A chance encounter while working as a door-to-door salesman in Springdale, Arkansas, changed Jacob Hawkes’ life forever.

Hawkes, who is Marshallese and was adopted as a child and raised in Utah, had little knowledge of his birth family beyond his Marshallese heritage and the greeting “Iakwe.” While knocking on doors one day, he introduced himself to a Marshallese family. When the woman asked for his Marshallese birth name, she realized he was her nephew. She returned with a photograph of his birth mother, beginning an emotional reunion with relatives he had never known.

That remarkable true story inspired Iakwe: Hello, Goodbye, a short narrative film that premiered at the 2026 Bentonville Film Festival. Hawkes plays himself in the fictionalized retelling, directed and co-written by Nathan Fitch and Russell Leigh Sharman.

https://bff2026.eventive.org/films/iakwe-hello-goodbye-69ff86012e84f6c6688eb0a1

Fitch, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia and director of the documentary Island Soldiers, said he wanted to tell a different kind of Marshallese story—one that emphasizes community, resilience, and belonging rather than portraying Marshallese people solely as victims.

“Representing the Marshallese community as victims… we’re trying to do a counter narrative,” Fitch said. “Representing the Marshallese as dynamic, interesting, talented people and part of the fabric of the community—that’s the point for me.”

Community involvement extended well beyond the cast. During production in Springdale, Fitch partnered with Rochelle Moore’s media program at Springdale High School, recruiting six students—including Marshallese students Leland Catlin and Angel Talk—to work alongside the professional film crew. Fitch said his goal was not only to make a film but also to help create opportunities for young Marshallese storytellers to enter the film industry.

As a filmmaking professor, Fitch believes students learn best by participating directly in professional productions. Beyond gaining technical experience, the students also helped build trust between the filmmakers and the Marshallese community.

“The idea was always to try to figure out a way to loop them in… empowering young people so they can tell their own stories and not have outsiders have to parachute in,” Fitch said.

Marshallese student Leland Catlin described working behind the scenes as an opportunity to see firsthand what filmmaking is really like, while fellow student Elisa Martinez said the experience showed her that a career in film was possible from Northwest Arkansas.

Fitch has spent the past several years returning regularly to Northwest Arkansas while filming the documentary Essential Islanders, building relationships with Marshallese community members rather than making a single visit.

“Iakwe: Hello, Goodbye” is continuing its festival run and is expected to air on PBS later this year.

🎧 Read and listen to KUAF’s full story by Daniel Caruth:
https://www.kuaf.com/show/ozarks-at-large/2026-06-26/door-to-door-salesman-finds-lost-marshallese-family-in-new-film