Filmmaking phenom

A Punahou senior has two films enjoying this year's HIFF spotlight

WRITER/DIRECTOR Taylour Chang is a bit of an anomaly in the Hawaii International Film Festival crowd. Having even one film accepted is an accomplishment, but two of Chang's creations will be showcased this year: a 30-minute documentary film and a movie short. Perhaps most striking, however, is that Chang is a 17-year-old senior at Punahou School, and she completed all of her work during summer break.

Her documentary -- "Unrecht: An Untold Chapter of Hawaii's Past," about the little-known German internment in the islands during World War II -- is part of the HIFF Student Showcase, a collection of short films showing Saturday. "Dark Clouds," a dramatization of the same topic from a script Chang wrote herself, is the first high school student film to be accepted into the Hawaii Panorama category.

"It's crazy! I never thought it would get into the normal section (rather than the student category of the festival)," she said from a corner of the Punahou campus after AP European history and before cross-country practice. "I've been really honored. I didn't have much confidence in my ability to create a movie short." But with encouragement from her mother, Hisae Ishii-Chang -- an attorney and television producer -- and plenty of inspiration, Chang forged ahead.

"We were so impressed by the quality of her work," said HIFF programmer Christian Razukas. "She's got quite a command of storytelling that's unusual for most filmmakers, and especially for someone who's not yet 18 years old. She's such a self-possessed young woman ... and that's what it takes to succeed as a filmmaker. That kind of passionate drive is rare ... and I expect we'll see more incredible things from her."

ASKED how a girl of Japanese, Chinese and Hawaiian ancestry became interested in making a movie about Germans, Chang laughed. "I kind of like that idea," she said, and related it to Ang Lee venturing into unknown territory with "Brokeback Mountain."

The idea came to her after she read a newspaper article about the Honouliuli internment camp. She then attended a conference at the Japanese Cultural Center, where one of the speakers was Doris Nye, a woman of German descent who shared stories about relatives interned during World War II. At the conference she also met Joji Yoshida, who would become her volunteer producer.

"I'd never heard of German internment before," said Chang. But Nye's story intrigued her. She supplemented her information with additional interviews, and mulled the script for months before writing it in a single night.

With fellow Punahou senior Jack Smart in mind for the lead role, Chang asked Yoshida to help her cast the rest of the film. Punahou School President James Scott allowed them to shoot scenes in his house on campus.

"It's not your typical production," she said. "We try to get as much free stuff as possible. It's very, very low budget."

Time management was also part of that equation. While writing, shooting and editing during the summer, Chang taught karate, served on the Juvenile State Advisory Council and helped with other public-service efforts.

"I was actually very surprised at her commitment and her consistency with getting things done on time," said Yoshida. "And when we started the production, she had everything ready, including story boards and permits from the film office."

"Dark Clouds" screens tomorrow as part of the Hawaii Panorama, normally reserved for seasoned filmmakers, but Yoshida was not surprised that Chang's film was accepted. He plans to submit the narrative short to bigger festivals, such as Sundance and Cannes. "There's nothing wrong with thinking big," he said. "You never know what's going to happen."

THE EXPERIENCE has not been easy for the independent filmmaker, who taught herself the movie editing program Final Cut Pro by reading the manual. "I've kind of put myself out there. If it's rejected, it's my work. I have nobody else to blame."

But she's proud of the time and effort she put into the project, as well as its message. "It depicts an injustice that hasn't been properly acknowledged," she said. "Although their numbers were a lot smaller than the Japanese Americans who were interned, I think it's important we still recognize that European Americans were interned as well. The rights of those people were breached. It was an un-American thing to do, and it shouldn't happen again."

Surprisingly, this is not Chang's first experience at HIFF. Her first film, made during the summer between her freshman and sophomore years, was a documentary called "Bon Dance," and was showcased last year. Making the leap from the student section this year, however, changed everything.

"I actually can trust that I have something," she said. "It makes me a lot more confident in my skills as a director, especially because it was my first narrative movie short and I wasn't sure I would be able to pull it off. It's humbling and inspiring, and it makes me want to do more films."

It's a process she knows is fraught with struggles and hard lessons. "I've learned to serve a greater purpose," she said. "In the end you have to bring your vision to life, and you can't rely on others to do that for you. I've learned to trust my creativity."

But perhaps the greatest lesson of all was the simplest: "I still have a lot to learn," she laughed.

With two attorneys for parents, one might think she would consider the field of law. But her goals include attending college and film school, and a life telling stories for others.

And that's something Yoshida thinks she will manage quite easily. "She's very mature and very organized," he said. "She's an old soul."

Most of all, she wants to move people the same way the best films motivate her. "When I see a good movie, it makes me feel so happy and inspired," said Chang. "Films have made a big impact on my life. I would like to make movies that can affect people as much as they've affected me. That would be the perfect way to spend my time."

STUDENT SHOWCASE Short films produced by high school students that are part of the Hawaii International Film Festival: On screen: 10 a.m. Saturday Place: Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Admission: Free Information: www.hiff.org FEATURED FILMS "Call to Our People," Kamaka Pili, Kamehameha Schools "Children of Maunalua," Amanda Suiso, Kaiser High School "Devil's Trill Sonata," Kamehameha Schools "Fall," Dana Yoshizu, Hawaii Baptist Academy "Marvel Boy," Aaron Kim, Hawaii Baptist Academy "My Trip to Aotearoa November 2005," Kalalea Ka'uhane, Kanuikapono School "Remembering ..." Randel Jim, Kamehameha Schools "Rewind," Dana Yoshizu, Hawaii Baptist Academy "Shades of Grey," Aaron Kim, Hawaii Baptist Academy "Ti Ceremony," Camtin Ragudo, Kanuikapono School "Unrecht: An Untold Chapter of Hawaii's Past," Taylour Chang, Punahou School