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Screen Time
Katherine Nichols
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PBS program features isle virtuosos
A new half-hour documentary on KHET/PBS explores the pursuits and philosophies of five Hawaii-based virtuosos, through extensive interviews and footage of their creative techniques and finished products.
In "Artist," steel guitarist Bobby Ingano talks about what it means to feel the music. "You can play for hours and you hope it never ends," he says in the show. "You have to connect it with your heart." Sally French, a painter and photographer on Kauai, explains how she, like many artists, tricks herself into working. But once she's engaged, she can't stop. Her process involves solitary study in her studio before revealing "uncomfortable" parts of herself to others. "Turns out they're usually universal," she notes. As a result, "the mountains flatten out, because I've exposed them."
Landscape artist and sculptor Leland Miyano experiments with the use of torches and bonfires, which he thinks lend a "sense of lack of control" that represents man's relationship with nature. This is also why he incorporates found objects into his sculptures. "My creative process accepts all these things," he explains. Maikai Tubbs, a young painter and three-dimensional artist/sculptor became an artist because "I couldn't picture myself doing anything else," he says. "I'm figuring it out every time; it's always new."
Marie Takezawa's dancing and choreography fulfill her in ways nothing else can. "I don't make a lot of money," she says, "but I feel good every day." She especially appreciates the fleeting quality of this art form, where "that one performance is never going to be the same."
The show's high-definition format presents the artists' work in extreme clarity, complementing the thought-provoking interviews. Executive produced by Robert Pennybacker and produced by Stuart Yamane, "Artist" is part of the new "PBS Hawaii Presents," a weekly presentation of independent films. It airs at 8:30 p.m. Thursday ...
It may not be as glamorous as the Maui Film Festival, but the third annual Lahaina Film Festival is an inexpensive way to catch fresh flicks in a laid-back atmosphere. Billed as a celebration of music, arts, culture and film, it's part of MauiFEST Hawaii, a one-day affair featuring free screenings of shorts and feature-length movies - the grass-roots brainchild of Maui filmmaker Kenneth K. Martinez Burgmaier.
Some of the dozen or so films include "Requiem," a documentary about sharks, "The Punaluu Experience," which examines the natural and cultural history of the sacred Big Island beach, and "Kekohi," an adventure film set in the time of Kamehameha. Live music from Brother Noland and Bradda Francis, craft booths and hula from Ulalena complete the down-home experience. It runs from 4 to 11 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Campbell, Park/Baldwin House Museum on Front Street. Visit www.mauifest.net; (808) 573-5530 ...
Independent producers who qualify may submit proposals to Pacific Islanders in Communications right now. The good news: They'll award more than $100,000. The catch: The official deadline is today, so be sure to inquire about the next possibility - or scramble for this one. Visit www.piccom.org; 591-0059.
