With its picturesque landscape, Hawai‘i has offered commercial appeal to many blockbuster movies showcasing the islands as a premiere location for filming. What little is known is Hawai‘i’s impact on the independent world of the big screen. At the recent
With its picturesque landscape, Hawai‘i has offered commercial appeal to many blockbuster movies showcasing the islands as a premiere location for filming. What little is known is Hawai‘i’s impact on the independent world of the big screen. At the recent Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the panel “Behind Aloha Smiles” brought together a group of local artists as well as filmmakers from Los Angeles and New York to discuss the current and future trends of cinema within the 50th state.
Unanimously, the panelists agreed that the need to tell good stories with universal appeal is prominent. For Hawai‘i-born actress, writer, director and producer, Kimberly-Rose Wolter the choice was easy. As she scribed “Knots,” her quirky “un-romantic” comedy helmed by director Michael Kang that stars TV and screen actress, Ileana Douglas, Hawai‘i was written as a main character. The touching story about love lessons uses paradise as a backdrop into the world of wedded bliss as Miriam (played by Douglas) and her oldest daughter (played by Wolter) run the family’s wedding consulting business.
“Knots,” an Island Film Group production, was digitally shot in 10 days. The filmmakers were careful to show the characters’ day-to-day life and not make this story revolve around tourists coming to the islands to seal their fate in eternal marital harmony. To add to its local appeal, the film features Hawai‘i sensation Jake Shimabukuro on its awesome soundtrack.
Both James Sereno and Ryan Kawamoto concur. Kinetic Films, their production company located in Honolulu, recently screened both “Paradise Broken” and “Hang Loose” at this festival. Sereno describes these films as “Hawai‘i-centric,” which his projects strive for. For both Sereno and Kawamoto, making Asian/Pacific Islander-themed movies is not about identity crisis or stereotyping of characters. It’s about showing the trials and tribulations of all characters that will bring the story to light.
Actor Dante Basco, who now heads a division of Kinetic Films in Los Angeles, describes Hawai‘i as the mecca of filmmaking for Asians and Pacific Islanders. Hawai‘i not only boasts beautiful locations, but also has a roster of top-notch film technicians, rental houses, post-production facilities and actors.
When it comes to choosing the islands as a film location, Hawai‘i speaks for itself.
