Hawai'i Int'l Film Festival | November film premieres

Two films will be premiering at the upcoming Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF), which runs Nov. 2-12. A short I wrote and directed, entitled I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE, will world premiere on November 5th. We shot the film over four days here on Maui, with local cast and crew, including several family members. We were lucky enough to be supported by a grant/licensing deal from Pacific Islanders in Communication. After playing festivals, the film will be broadcast on PBS. 

Also screening at HIFF is Brian Kohne's feature KULEANA, which I produced and was forced to act in. The film has been racking up awards on the festival circuit and will be released theatrically in late January/early February. More news on the roll-out soon. 

Finally, still busy on the AMC TV series with Kristiana Kahakauwila. We are revising, polishing, and revising the pilot script some more. 

And on the 247th Day...

We pitched on July 6th. This following months of preparation with the team from indie powerhouse Big Beach. We could tell the execs in the room were captivated by the characters and show universe we described. They’d done their homework and had numerous follow-up questions. After over an hour we stepped back onto the elevator. Ding. Doors close. Back to the basement with validated parking tickets. We smiled, nodding, optimistic the prep work had paid off. Sure enough, several weeks later we heard they wanted to move forward… 

And then the wait began. The lawyers and business affairs duked it out for days, weeks, months. Months upon months. Mere seconds before hurling myself into the bottomless pit of despair, we received word that the deal had finally closed. March 17th, 2017. St. Patty’s Day, and I’m not even Irish. 247 days after our pitch at AMC headquarters in Santa Monica. 

I’m very happy to announce that author Tiana Kahakauwila and I are now writing a TV pilot for a network that has produced some of the best television of the past decade. Entitled THE ‘OHANA, our show is a contemporary drama set in Hawai’i. Last week - in our “creative kick-off call” with the AMC execs - there were numerous references to BREAKING BAD, MAD MEN, and the upcoming LODGE 49. No pressure…