10 TO WATCH IN 2003:
SERGIO GOES

KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM Sergio Goes.

Filmmaker Goes’
return is plus for
isle movie fans

His plans include another
Cinema Paradise fest this year

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By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com

Sergio Goes was gaining a reputation as a fine art portrait and documentary photographer here about seven years ago, before he moved to New York. There, he completed an acclaimed documentary, "Black Picket Fence," about a pair of best friends trying to escape a poverty-stricken area of Brooklyn in very different ways.

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But the Sao Paulo, Brazil-born artist decided to move back here with his wife to have their first baby born in a place they both love. Gabriel was born on Feb. 22 and the whole family is here to stay.

"As a career decision, maybe it wasn't the smartest move to make," he said. "But my wife and I wanted to start our family here, because the lifestyle is so wonderful out here."

Goes' return gave him the opportunity to restart what once was the Honolulu Underground Film Festival with Chris Kahunahana (now living in San Francisco).

The festival morphed into a bigger project dubbed Cinema Paradise '02 early last month and, by all accounts, successfully exposed local cinephiles to independent films of all kinds.

"People were asking me if Chris and I were going to start the festival again and I was surprised by the amount of energy surrounding the interest in film," Goes said.

"There were enough people interested to come see the films and, sometimes, we had to turn people away at some of our screenings."

Hawaii figures prominently in Goes' current art project. In moving out here, he decided to drive cross-country to put together his portrait of the United States, piecing together a gallery show and film from 60 hours of video footage, plus photos, e-mail correspondence and news clippings.

"Although it wasn't meant to be specifically about 9/11, feelings were so strong at the time, because people were feeling challenged to understand what it meant to be an American, so that will be an underlying thread I will present as part of my projects."

In the meantime, "Black Picket Fence," which picked up an award at the Urban World Film Festival in New York, will be in limited release in theaters beginning next month, and will be out on home video in about six months. Winning the HBO-sponsored award recognizing minority-made films could mean a future airing on the popular cable network.

Goes' plans include another Cinema Paradise festival this year.

"Even though there are a thousand possibilities in programming the festival, I want more fiction features, because last year's was heavy with documentaries. We might have some smaller 'mini-fests' throughout the year, and we definitely want to stay at the Art House at Restaurant Row, as well as the Movie Museum, where Dwight Damon has been a big supporter for us."

There is talk of creating, with Damon's help, cash awards for local filmmakers, Goes said.