Reel Shots: 'Ohina showcase gives exposure to Hawai'i filmmakers

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

"Rage," directed by Remington Scott, is a comedy about an anxious driver and the longest stoplight in the world. This piece will be featured in this year's 'Ohina Short Film Showcase, along with more than a dozen others. The 2001 'Ohina Short Film Showcase 7 p.m. today, and 12:30, 3:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday Honolulu Academy of Arts theater Free (Contributions accepted) 593-8848 Also: A retrospective of films from past 'Ohina Showcases followed by an encore presentation of 'Ohina 2001 will be presented at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Academy theater. The event will include panel discussions on independent filmmaking in Hawai'i. Admission is $10.

Unspooling at lengths of just under three minutes to almost a half hour each, the features that made the cut of this weekend's third annual 'Ohina Short Film Showcase display an all-embracing melange of styles, subject matter and moods.

A hand-drawn animated struggle between a man and a piece of furniture is followed by a hilariously sexy three-minute take on shoe-buying reminiscent of Bertolucci's "Last Tango In Paris." A documentary on the treatment of terminally ill patients precedes a Honolulu-themed "COPS" spoof and another documentary, this time on local hip-hop artists.

Surprisingly, the effect as one film fades into the next is less jarring than one might expect.

Although he has seen each of the features a number of times, 'Ohina co-founder and executive director Jeff Katts chuckles softly at witty moments, occasionally musing on others he still finds technically brilliant.

"You know, anybody can make a film and just show it to their family," Katts said. "But when you work really hard on a film, what you really want is for an audience to see it."

Three years ago, that same thought pushed Katts and Jason Suapaia — themselves independent filmmakers with shorts already in the can and no venue to show them — to co-found the 'Ohina Short Film Showcase, with a simple mission: To provide a launching pad and audience for beginning and experienced local filmmakers working in the realm of short film. 'Ohina's embrace by its intended benefactors was immediate. In its brief existence, the showcase has graduated from a first year presentation of all 11 entries to this weekend's slate of 16 films selected from more than 90 entries.

"'Ohina is the only option for a lot of local filmmakers," said Honolulu-based film director Genie Joseph.

Although the Hawaii International Film Festival regularly showcases a handful of locally produced short films, "we're competing against people with larger budgets and serious banking," Joseph said. "Jeff is doing a great thing because he's giving a lot of local filmmakers — many with limited budgets — a chance to showcase their work for an audience."

Joseph made the cut of 'Ohina's 2000 showcase with "Choices," a film about domestic violence, and this year with "We Are the Peacemakers," a documentary about student peer mediation at Leilehua High School. Both films dealt with subjects about which Joseph, a relationship counselor and professional mediator, is passionate.

"It's not that HIFF doesn't provide a venue for short filmmakers, but it caters more to feature-length directors and those who shoot on 35mm film," Katts said. "For the most part, all our filmmakers can afford is digital video."

Beginnings

Katts is the first to admit to launching 'Ohina for purely selfish reasons. Read that as rejection notices from HIFF and several Mainland festivals for films he had entered.

"I had a film, Jason had a film and there were people that we knew who had films that were already done," Katts recalls of the pair's early 1999 shout out (mainly to friends) for entries. Like Katts and Suapaia, most of their friends were either working full time for local production houses, toiling on completing short films of their own, or both.

Dubbing their showcase 'Ohina — Hawaiian for "a gathering" — Katts and Suapaia put up their own savings for its promotion and Honolulu Academy of Arts theater rental, organizing the entire event with countless pau hana hours at Pacific Focus, the Kaka'ako film and video production facility where both work.

"We barely got any sleep that first year," Katts said. "We were just flying by the seat of our pants. None of us knew what to expect from it."

Try more than 450 people queuing outside the Academy theater on the morning of Aug. 7, 1999, for 'Ohina's first mix of documentaries, comedies, music videos and abstract film experiments. Its success immediately led to Katts' planning of 'Ohina 2000, this time with a goal of searching beyond his clique of film friends for entries. He didn't have to look very hard.

"People who went to the first 'Ohina began calling and asking how they could submit stuff for the second one even before we had any entry forms out," Katts said. 'Ohina 2000 wound up receiving 51 entries, 17 of which were shown. Expanded to two days, 'Ohina 2000 attracted 900 attendees.

Getting in

For Katts, turning away the bulk of 'Ohina's growing number of entries is the most difficult result of the showcase's rapid growth.

"Obviously, we can't put everything we receive into the showcase," Katts says of the selection committee — made up of local filmmakers, film production facility representatives and educators. Knowing well that budgets are often not what budding directors would like them to be, "we're not sticklers about lighting or audio. What we're looking for is story. Is there a point? Is there passion there?"

Director Anne-Marie Cook — whose aforementioned "Una Passione Adatta (A Fitting Passion)" about sex and the art of footwear sales is an 'Ohina 2001 standout — says that acceptance in even a noncompetitive short film festival like 'Ohina is confirmation that all of her and her crew's time, effort and money were well spent.

"Having your filmic expression viewed by an audience can be a nerve-racking experience, but it is absolutely essential," says Cook, now directing a feature film in Italy. "Short films give you the chance to experiment with styles and genres, but they are also great entertainment for an audience. So festivals (like 'Ohina) certainly work both ways."

These days, very little of Katts' and Suapaia's own finances go into the showcase, thanks to grants from the Atherton Family Foundation, Hawai'i State Film Office and Hawai'i Community Foundation, which cover the event's Academy theater rental, publicity and miscellaneous costs. The added money has resulted this year in a special 'Ohina 2001 showing on Oct. 13 that will also feature a retrospective of the best entries from Ohina 1999 and 2000, as well as panel discussions with past 'Ohina producers, writers, actors and directors on the future of independent filmmaking in Hawai'i.

The future

As for 'Ohina's future, Katts is eager to see the showcase continue to cement a permanent presence locally, as well as a life of its own. Even without him and Suapaia at the helm.

"Jeannette Paulson started HIFF, stayed on for a while and then found somebody to take her place when she wanted to move on to other things," said Katts, explaining how the large amount of planning and marketing 'Ohina now requires has begun to keep him from pursuing his own film projects.

Mirroring the collective filmmaker angst that spurred the launch of 'Ohina, Katts would also like to see showcases launched by filmmakers already disenchanted with 'Ohina's rejection of their labors.

"You know, someone could do an all-action showcase or even an all-Hawaiiana showcase," Katts said. "If you can't afford the Academy of Arts, maybe you can afford The Movie Museum for a night. The point is, other cities have more than one festival like 'Ohina. I think Honolulu could have that, too."

"Special," directed by Brent Anbe, documents the lives and struggles of two transgendered individuals born and raised in Hawai'i.

This year's film schedule runs two hours. The first hour will feature eight films, followed by a brief intermission, and another eight films in the second hour. The films, with descriptions penned by their directors, are:

• "Chair," directed by Hiroshi Mori. A lone figure struggles to keep from slipping into the unknown in this hand-animated feature.
• "Real Surreal," directed by Christopher Moro. A prisoner of his own fears, a young man looks within himself to find what he needs to live.
• "A Rose for Emily," directed by Michael Ogasawara. An adaptation of a short story by William Faulkner.
• "Down in History," directed by Cameron Spangler. A high school dork becomes a computer genius.
• "Banished," directed by Michelle Poppler. An experimental work about the journey of two people who are at once alike and different.
• "Special," directed by Brent Anbe. A documentary on the lives and struggles of two transgendered individuals born and raised in Hawai'i.
• "Una Passione Adatta (A Fitting Passion)," directed by Anne-Marie Cook. An Italian seduction in the most unlikely setting.
• "Vibes Dem Cool," directed by Nathan Kurosawa. A music video performed by the group B.E.T.
• "Freedom," directed by Joe Kino. Seeking an escape from his wartime prison, a nameless P.O.W. finds shelter and salvation in an unlikely place.
• "Kokua Mau Trigger," directed by Jody Mishan. A documentary about improving "end-of-life" care in Hawai'i.
• "Rage," directed by Remington Scott. A comedy about an anxious driver and the longest stoplight in the world.
• "Vanishing Voices," directed by Jackson Bauer. A documentary on the extinction of tree snails.
• "Fuzz," directed by Karin Last. An off-beat spoof on the television program "COPS."
• "Surf or Die," directed by Chris Rust. A music video about the thrill of riding the biggest waves and the risks involved.
• "We Are the Peacemakers," directed by Genie Joseph. A documentary about a group of teenage mediators resolving violence at Leilehua High School.
• "Where's the Love," directed by Albert Ainuu. A documentary of struggling hip-hop artists staking a claim in Hawai'i.