Film about legendary swim coach in works
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
Producers are scouting locations on Maui and O'ahu this week for an independent film entitled "Maui Ditch Kids," which chronicles the lives and legacy of Soichi Sakamoto and his famed Olympians of Team Maui.
George Sunga, an award-winning executive producer, has been working with writers-producers Shelley Bingham and Bill Brown to develop and produce an indie feature to be shot entirely on the Valley Island and O'ahu.
The movie, with a price tag between $10 million and $16 million, will be produced under the 'Ohana Productions banner. It tracks the story of Coach Sakamoto and his team of athletes who trained in the Hawai'i Cane & Sugar plantation flumes and went on to Olympic fame. Sunga said the tale "needs to be shared with the rest of the world."
Sunga had no precise production timetable and admitted: "We're shopping. We're looking at the best possible route — HBO, Showtime, the networks. We're trying to see who's most interested — and, depending on the reception, that will be a determining factor."
Sakamoto, an American of Japanese ancestry, was a junior high school teacher in 1936 in the sugar plantation town of Pu'unene, Maui. His student athletes were largely sons and daughters of sugar-cane field laborers employed by HC&S, and though he could not swim himself, Sakamoto took on the arduous task of training youngsters to swim, using the plantation's irrigation trenches and eventually developing a team of world-class competitive athletes.
"People are going to want to see this great story," said Hiroshi Yamauchi, a member of the Swimming and Diving Legacy Project team. "It's a long overdue recognition of what Coach Sakamoto has done for swimming in Hawai'i."
Sakamoto also was a University of Hawai'i coach from 1945-1961, and often is acknowledged as one of Hawai'i's top swimming mentors, despite being a nonswimmer. His story has been told locally in documentaries and he has been honored as a Living Treasure of Hawaii by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii, and is an inductee in the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. He died in 1997, at the age of 91.
His inspirational story of taking ragtag kids and making them champions is on the threshold of being told to a global audience with "Maui Ditch Kids."
Sakamoto and his charges were denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympics in 1940 due to the impending war. Eight years later, however, Sakamoto protege Bill Smith ascended the award stand in Helsinki, Finland, to receive the gold medal for his 400-meter free-style, and 11 Hawai'i swimmers were allowed to represent the United States in Olympics competitions, winning six medals, including three golds.
Sakamoto's teams were U.S. national champions 11 times.
"Coach Sakamoto instilled in his team that anything was possible, and in this day and age, it's still an important lesson — that if you believe in yourself, you can live your dream," said Gary Hosaka, a representative for the Swimming and Diving Legacy Project. "I think this film will show the rest of the world that Hawai'i is one of the premier locations in the world to train in aquatics, as well as showcasing the beauty of our Islands and our people."
Sunga was producer of the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and "Three's Company" and helped produce "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons." He also has produced numerous TV pilots and series for Paramount Television and Walt Disney Television. As a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the organization that oversees the Emmy Awards, Sunga helped launch the Membership Outreach Committee to ensure more ethnic diversity in the TV academy's membership, a goal he hopes to continue as a member of the Producers Guild of America.
Writer-producer Brown is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television. In addition to being an award-winning filmmaker, Brown is a member of the All-America Swim Team and All America Water Polo Team.
"This is a story with heart, love and confidence, showcasing the best things about ourselves and our fellow man," said Brown.
His partner, Bingham, is an award-winning playwright and a lyricist.
In addition to the feature, a companion documentary on the making of the movie will be shot, with plans to employ interns and film students from Hawai'i. The documentary will be designed for film festivals and cable TV.
