"Chief," a short film written and directed by Islander Brett Wagner and produced by Dana Satler Hankins and Wagner, has won best-dramatic-short laurels at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival.

L.A. Shortsfest, held Friday, is an Academy Award-accredited film festival whose winners are eligible to be nominated for an Oscar in the short film categories.

Thirty of the fest's past winners have been nominated and nine have gone on to clinch an Academy Award.

"Winning L.A. Shortsfest and getting our academy qualification is huge for us, and a victory for the dozens of Hawai'i-based cast, crew and supporters who contributed their talent and resources to this film," said Wag-ner, in a statement.

Jurors for the event included actress Sandra Oh, HBO executive producer Andrew Reimer, and L.A. Weekly film critic Ernest Hardy.

"Chief" was the first Island-made short film to premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival. IndieWIRE called it "one of the 10 must-see shorts of the festival."

The film went on to receive a British Academy of Film and Television Certificate of Excellence and the Audience Award for best narrative short at the Maui Film Festival.

"Chief" tells the story of a ranking chieftain from Samoa who flees his village after the drowning death of his young daughter, and winds up driving a cab in Honolulu. It stars two first-time film actors: Sielu Avea, a genuine high-ranking Samoan chief, and the 8-year-old Ka'alaka'i Faurot.

On the film's Web site, the filmmakers call it "a short film that defies categorization — though if you had to try, you might call it a Polynesian tragicomic film-noir."

Its Honolulu premiere will be at the Hawaii International Film Festival in October.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who is Samoan, has been a staunch supporter of the film. Hannemann said " 'Chief' is an outstanding film, very worthy of the applause and attention it is receiving. It is a shining example of the talent and potential of Hawai'i's film industry."

Learn more

"Chief," www.chief-movie.com

Hawaii International Film Festival: www.hiff.org