Posted at 9:56 a.m., Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Bumatai short makes cut for Palm Springs film fest
Advertiser Staff
"Sunday Wind," a Island-produced short film which was the last project of comedian-actor Ray Bumatai, has been tapped for showcase in the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films Aug. 23-29."This is the premier short film market in the U.S.," said director, Michael Wurth, who also wrote and edited the film, in a statement. "This would have made Ray very happy." Bumatai died Oct. 6, 2005.
The film also stars Troy Ignacio and Shiro Kawai and tells the story of three local taro farmers in 1941, whose lives are devastated by events surrounding the Pearl Harbor attack.
"It's not just about Pearl Harbor," said producer-cinematographer Shawn Hiatt. "It's a film about the stupidity that war breeds everywhere. It's about that time and it's about our time."
"Sunday Wind" already has earned the $10,000 Cause and F(X) Dream Digital Award at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival and the Aloha Visionary Filmmaker Award at MauiFest. It was a finalist for Best Short Film at the Arizona International Film Festival in April.
The film is intended to be one chapter of several short films that ultimately will become a feature entitled "Kaunaloa." Each short film will spotlight a major event in Hawaii history impacting generations of the same Island family.
