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), Centerpiece Film at DisOrient Film Festival (Winner: Best Narrative Feature), Independent Film Festival Boston (Special Jury Prize Winner), Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (Special Jury Recognition for Narrative Feature), Maoriland Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival (Winner: Best Narrative Feature), Closing Presentation at Asian CineVision, Cinema at Sea (Pacific Islands Special Award), and Official Selection at the Santa Fe International Film Festival and Virginia 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, DisOrient 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: Gaffer
DIRECTOR: Jana Park
DP: Anne Misawa
RELEASE: 2025
AWARDS: Winner: Best Indigenous Nations Film at South Pacific Film Festival Auckland, Official Selection at Hawai’i International Film Festival, Pacific Island Film Festival, New Zealand Indie Film Festival
LOG LINE: On a summer evening shortly after Hawai’i’s official statehood is announced, two women attend a dinner at one of their family’s homes. Ruth, a spirited school teacher, and Grace, the pastor’s daughter, hide their love for each other while Ruth’s prim sister tries to set her up with yet another man from church.
Ruth doesnʻt want to be married; Grace doesnʻt want to be American. The two women spend a stolen moment together, considering a life where they don’t have to hide or pretend, even if it’s only imagined.
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.