FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Dryssen Higa, left, and Mie Omori auditioned for director Kayo Hatta yesterday. Hatta was casting children for her short film, "Fishbowl" at the KHET studio.
Director takes low-budget
approach to filming
Yamanaka tale
It's easy to characterize director-screenwriter Kayo Hatta as one of those artists who thrives on low pay, 16-hour days, grungy conditions and uncontrolled situations.
That's because she does.
Casting call
"Fishbowl" features a cast of about 15 children, ages 10 to 14. No prior acting experience is necessary. To apply for a part, e-mail a photo, age of child, background and contact information to fishbowlfilm@yahoo.com, or write "Fishbowl Film," care of PBS Hawaii, 2350 Dole St., Honolulu 96822.
Crew and interns
Paid positions available: First/second assistant directors, locations manager, camera/sound assistants, grips, electricians, art department/wardrobe assistants, hair/makeup artists, stills photographer, drivers, production assistants.
Interns: School credit can be arranged.
To apply: Experienced crew should send résumés and interns should address inquiries to producer Linda Barry, Linda@fishbowlfilm.com.
Some eight years ago when the Moiliili-born director was filming the award-winning "Picture Bride," she was usually found coated in red dirt from the plantation set mauka of Haleiwa, perspiring profusely in the shadeless fields, or carrying water bottles and sandwiches to thirsty and hungry actors.
"You do what you gotta do," said the soft-spoken Hatta about the making of that low-budget film.
Now she's back with her latest project, "Fishbowl," a dramatic short based on excerpts from writer Lois-Ann Yamanaka's acclaimed first novel, "Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers." That means no more dusty cane, but the 10-day production -- Aug. 4 to 15 -- will be as close to no-budget as low- budget can get.
The comic coming-of-age story was first adapted for the stage in 1985 by the Hawaii theater group, Kumu Kahua. The story is set in the sleepy plantation town of Hilo, but the 30-minute film will be shot on Oahu to save money.
The story's heroine is Lovey Nariyoshi, the rebellious granddaughter of immigrant sugar-cane workers and the daughter of a struggling Hilo taxidermist. Her best friend is Jerry, an effeminate boy with whom she shares her dream of finding a measure of respect in a plantation town where class and racial rivalries still run high. Lovey's quest to be anything but herself leads her through a series of comical, sometimes painful misadventures.
The most interesting aspect and challenge of "Fishbowl" is its unprecedented use of pidgin.
"I love the realism and lyricism of that dialect," Hatta said. "Instantly identifiable and expressive."
She had read "Bully" soon after it was published and says she was "captivated by the realism, the interactions and the language."
"I thought it would make a great film, in part, because the dialogue jumps off the page and the characters' issues are so universal."
It wasn't until 1997 that Hatta started pitching the story as a film to studios.
"The problem wasn't that they didn't like it, but they couldn't see it as a movie and didn't know what stars could act in this," Hatta said.
In the meantime, she had secured a deal with Yamanaka through her agent, while struggling "to find someone to validate my vision."
"I wanted to do this as a feature film ... but I realized that to get it made, I would have to do a shorter version," she said.
SO HATTA WROTE the screenplay, cutting the story to three chapters, including the one which is the film's title.
"That was pretty easy because the book is very episodic," she said.
Then she applied to the National Asian-American Telecommunications Association for funds, which she received, as well as Independent Television and Video Service, which assists alternative programming for PBS. PBS Hawaii is providing the production office space and studio. Hatta also received some funding from two Hawaii foundations and UCLA, where she teaches filmmaking.
"We're paying everyone, which is a very good thing," Hatta said, laughing.
But she is still seeking funds and accommodations for some of the 20 crew members. The film's location will be in the Waialua and Wahiawa areas.
The child actors will have to speak pidgin fluently, Hatta and Yamanaka agreed.
"I did write some dialogue, but the pidgin Lois-Ann had to fix," said Hatta, who moved to the mainland at age 7.
"It needed a bit of work," said Yamanaka, who declined being a consultant on the film. "I don't mess with other people's art.
"To step out of my genre would be crazy. I wouldn't dare say or think I was capable of that."
Yamanaka also makes a point not to hang on to her books and characters "once they leave my house."
"When I finish a book, I say goodbye and wish them well on their journey," she said. "Now the book has to represent itself."
It was easy turning the story over to Hatta because "I trust her greatly," Yamanaka said. "I trust her work, her tenacity and her honesty. My children are in very capable hands."
As for Hatta, she vows to make mom proud, with plans to present screenings of "Fishbowl" at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals.
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