Think of a ukulele and you probably imagine grass skirts, slide guitar and kitchy lyrics, but far from being just a Hawaiian novelty instrument, the ukulele has a rich history and has profoundly affected music around the world.

Originally brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants, the tiny instrument first captured the musical imaginations of the Hawaiian royal court in the 1880s. With the dawn of the radio broadcasting age, ukulele music owned the airwaves. Broadway produced ukulele musicals. Hollywood produced ukulele movie stars. The little instrument was so inexpensive and easy to play that by the early twenties the uke was the most popular instrument in the American home and the first musical voice for millions of children. Over the next thirty years the uke was number one, and then, with the rise of rock and roll guitar, faded into nerdy obscurity.

Until now.

In the Internet age, the ukulele is making a spectacular comeback. Clubs and ensembles are sprouting up around the world, and a new generation is pulling their grandparents ukes out of the closet, challenging our images of the humble, twangy ukulele. Ukes top the charts in Japan, Swedish punks thrash uke angst, California popsters serve it to ya ukulele style, classical composers carefully pluck out musicbox sonatas, and all of them meet together at the myriad ukulele festivals from New York to London and Tokyo.

This is not a toy!

MIGHTY UKE travels the world to discover why so many people of different nations, cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the ukulele to express themselves, connect with the past, and with each other. From the Redwoods of California through the gritty streets of Paris, from swinging London through Tokyos highrise canyons to Hawaii, ukers tell the story of the peoples instrument: The Mighty Uke.

When we made the movie, MIGHTY UKE, we had no idea what was in store for us. We knew that there was a worldwide resurgence of the ukulele, but not how passionate people were about their little instrument. However, when we realized that uke-players, unlike most musicians, actually bring their ukuleles to concerts, we knew we had a new format for our screenings. We call it the MIGHTY UKE Roadshow and it involves a screening of the film, a concert by a master ukulele-player, and ends with a strum-along for the entire audience. The result has been a ukulele love-fest. In the short time since its release, MIGHTY UKE Roadshow has taken us on an amazing journey and we’ve witnessed our fair share of magic moments: 600 people in formal wear strumming in unison in Santa Cruz, California; an hour-long jam after the Washington DC show as ushers hovered in amazement, unsure of what they were seeing; 25 Arab and Jewish children in Israel bringing their parents together with their ukulele orchestra- all offering proof of the ukulele mantra, “music self-played is happiness self-made.”

2009 Woodstock Film Festival, USA
Won Runner-up, Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary

2009 Whistler Film Festival, USA
Won Runner-up for People’s Choice Award

2009 Portland Reel Music, USA

2010 Big Sky Documentary Festival, USA

2010 Doxa Documentary Festival, Canada

2010 Fort Lauderdale Independent Film Festival, USA

2010 Canadian Film Festival, Australia

“A must-see...it will leave you with a burning desire to get your own ukulele.”
PDX PIPELINE, Portland

“Offers key musical discoveries every 3 minutes.”
CHRONOGRAM.COM

“A sweet, fascinating documentary.”
MACLEANS.CA

“The Way a documentary should be put together.”
WESTENDER MAGAZINE