COURTESY 'OHINA
"Forgotton Promise," directed by Ryan Kawamoto, tells the story of a young man pushed to the limits of his sanity by an incident of domestic violence involving his childhood friends.
Short on time, "We're kind of known as the baby brother to HIFF," declares Jeff Katts, executive director of the 'Ohina Short Film Showcase, whose local film and video exhibition will send six of its 13 entries this year to the prestigious Hawaii International Film Festival, starting the first of November. For a non-profit organization which began four years ago as a lark, this might be considered something of an accomplishment.
long on artistry
Where: Doris Duke at the Academy, Honolulu Academy of Arts 2002 'Ohina
Short Film Showcase
When: 7:30 p.m. today and noon, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow
Admission: Free, donations welcome
Call: 951-4413
By Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.comAs Katts tells it, when the Honolulu Underground Film Festival -- that champion of locally produced bottom dog films -- ceased operations several years ago, he and 'Ohina operations director Jason Suapaia, employees of Honolulu-based video production company Pacific Focus, took up the torch for local, edgy independent films and shorts and began the showcase festival. "We just kind of worked out this idea, did a little publicity and got the thing together. We really didn't know what to expect; it was just a one shot-type deal."
In its premiere at the then-Honolulu Academy of Arts Theater in 1999, the 'Ohina Short Film Showcase filled less than half the seats in the 250-seat venue, but word soon spread, and by its third showing, 'Ohina had become a standing room-only affair.
In the years to come, it not only caught on with the local film and video community, it also inspired an immersion of young novices in film and video. "Eventually, I started to realize after the second or third year that the real joy was in catering to high schoolers and college people," relates Katts. "We were providing an outlet for up-and-coming filmmakers."
"Exposure's always good," adds 18-year-old Jay Hanamura, whose entry, "Flash," was named Best High School Short in the Hawaii Student Film Festival earlier this year. "I wanted to get a little experience and also get some feedback from people in the field."
Also included in this year's showcase is "The Procrastinators," a film short written by Andy and Ray Bumatai, who channel their penchant for motorcycles and comedy into a biker movie parody. "Prior to us doing the film, they had already created this bike club called the Procrastinators, which is basically just the two of them," reveals producer Dawn Kaniaupio. "They don't have any emblems on their jackets. They're the Procrastinators; they never got around to it."
COURTESY 'OHINA
"The Procrastinators," directed by Shawn Hiatt, is a parody of a biker movie starring Ray and Andy Bumatai.
A music video, an animation piece and a silent movie are also represented in this year's 'Ohina Short Film Showcase, which received over 50 entries from a homegrown mixture of amateurs and professionals. It was the job of a four-person panel to whittle the field down to a manageable baker's dozen. "It's not based so much on content per se as much as time," says Katts. "We try to stress that (entries) be under 10 minutes and keep our attention in that time. It doesn't matter if you shoot it on film or video and as long as we can see and hear what's going on, we're pretty lenient."
As a non-profit entity, the 'Ohina Short Film Showcase must stay creative to remain prosperous, Katts says. Recently, several partnerships with local companies have helped keep the showcase afloat. "For now we'd like to keep it free," he states, adding that, at least for the moment, its no-awards policy is also secure. "The competition is in just getting in there. Even though we'd probably get more attention as an awards-type show, I like the idea of every entry being equal. I get enough calls with people asking 'How come I didn't get in?' "
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