ROLE: Gaffer
DIRECTOR: Alika Tengan
DP: Chapin Hall
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Significant Productions, Array, Banana Bunch
RELEASE: 2024
AWARDS: Hawai'i International Film Festival- Centerpiece Presentation (Winner: Made In Hawai’i Grand Jury Award, Winner: Kau Ka Hōkū Award), Seattle International Film Festival (Best Performance— Runner Up), DeadCenter Film Festival (Winner: Best Indigenous Feature), Official Selection at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
LOG LINE: Fresh out of a multi-year stint in prison, Kainoa returns to his family hoping to reconnect with his adolescent son, rekindle things with his ex, and reintegrate into his native culture. But old habits die hard. From the director of Sundance 2022 standout Every Day in Kaimuki.
ROLE: Gaffer
DIRECTOR: Taylor Gruver, Elizabeth Rian
DP: Keli'i Grace
PRODUCER: Jana Park Moore
RELEASE: 2024
AWARDS: Official Selection at the Hawai'i International Film Festival, LA Independent Film Festival (Finalist), Venice Intercultural Film Festival (Winner: Director's Choice Award for Best Comedy), Discover Film Festival (Winner: Best Low Budget Film), Pacific Island Film Festival, The Women's Film Festival, The Jane Austen International Film Festival (Winner: Best International Comedy and Best Comedy Director), Pacific Island Film Festival, Hawai’i Filmmakers Collective Film Festival (Winner: Best Screenplay, Best Performance: Elizabeth Rian), People of Passion International Film Festival, The Palm Springs International Comedy Festival
LOG LINE: A struggling actress in Hawai'i takes a job as a performer for a kids birthday party where she has to face her reality on an island that seems way too small.
ROLE: Director of Photography, Co-Director
RELEASE: 2021
Editor: Jori Teplitzky
Colorist: Tyler Kindred
In.Drip. sent me this song and we came up with the idea of creating a teenage summer in the San Fernando Valley theme— driving around with friends, beating the heat, and breaking into houses to use swimming pools (or kiddie pools in this case). You can flash forward to my favorite scene that starts at 2:51. We also wanted to use images to compliment words. We used sliding down hills on cardboard boxes and running away from protective homeowners to highlight the chorus of “going down.” Overall, we wanted the video to be a brightly colored, light-hearted, and fun reflection of the place both of us grew up in.