Posted on: Sunday, November 21, 2004

Pacific Films on mission to develop local talent

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Indie insiders from around the state are watching the recent emergence of Pacific Films, a Hawai'i-based, commercially-oriented independent film company, with great interest.

Pacific Films recently finished shooting the $3 million submarine adventure movie "Tides of War." It has four more films scheduled for production next year, each with comparable budgets.

Producer Genie Joseph said Pacific Films has been set up to develop homegrown talent while producing commercially viable films for national and international distribution.

"For too long, people with a high level of skill have been forced to uproot and move to the country of Los Angeles — a civilization you cannot describe as a civilization — to find work," she said. "We want to create a great filmmaking environment that makes the most of local talent and reflects who we are."

To that end, the company makes it a point to hire people who may not normally be considered for certain positions: Experienced professionals get to move up a rung, women are hired for traditionally male jobs, and students, middle-age people and others get a fair shot at entry-level positions.

"People from L.A. don't always understand and value our ways of doing things," said Joseph, an award-winning film and television director with extensive experience in screenwriting. "It's important to us to do work that will make our investors happy and still be in an environment that suits our temperaments."

Where some independent productions put most of their emphasis on artistic and creative concerns, Joseph said Pacific Films needs to operate with more of a balance.

"Creative expression is what enriches us all, it's what saves our souls," she said. "The other branch is what we do: We're independent but we're still a business, and we use business models to ensure our success."

Joseph said just as the major studios have learned from the success of the indie community, independent filmmakers would be wise to adopt the studios' sense of financial responsibility.

"Even those independent filmmakers who consider themselves artists need to be responsible to their investors and do the proper analysis," she said. "Before we shoot a frame, we know what the profits are going to be on paper."

Pacific Films is a good example of how much a larger-scale independent operation can impact the local economy.

"Tides of War" employed about 100 extras and 60 crew workers — all local. It also used local hotels and car-rental services; the food budget alone was about $3,000 a day, Joseph said.