October 12, 2009
Aloha students, friends and supporters of the Academy for Creative Media at
the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
IT’S ALL ABOUT HIFF
The Hawai‘i International Film Festival opens Thursday with an exciting
collection of films for and by ACM students. All screenings are at the Regal
Dole Cannery Theatres. Here are the highlights:
ACM STUDENT & ALUMNI FILMS IN VIEWERS CHOICE COMPETITION
You can watch two ACM student shorts – and vote for the “Viewers Choice
Award” – on Oceanic Time Warner Cable Channel 680. “Flowers, Chocolates &
Candlelit Dinners,” by Patricia Stafford (a Grace Abernethy Women’s
Filmmaker Initiative winner), and “Dog & Cat,” by Robert Omura are among the
nine short films you can access via the free NGN Video on Demand Service.
After viewing, you can vote on Channel 681. Three ACM Alumni films are also
in the mix: “Blue Tarp City” by Henry Mochida, “Layover, on the Shore,” by
Christopher Yogi, and “Stones,” by Ty Sanga. The viewing and voting run
through midnight October 19.
ACM NIGHT OCTOBER 23
ACM will premiere its first Hawaiian language and its first animation films
Friday, October 23 at 7:45 pm at the Dole Cannery Theatres. “Live Tonight”
by ‘Aina Paikai and “Lulu” by Brittany Itsuno, will be joined by five other
ACM short films, including one co-produced in China with students from
Shanghai University’s School of Film and Television. UHM is the only
university with a program of U.S. and China student film co-productions,
through ACM’s SMART (Student Media Art) Exchange.
“Jinxian Junction” is the second in a series of SMART Exchange productions,
co-directed by Kevyn Fong of ACM, and Pan Huijia of Shanghai University. “Li
Hing Mui, Lilikoi & Lychee,” by Lauren Cheape, was shot on Oahu with a mixed
ACM-Shanghai University crew, and is also part of the festival program.
Other films are “Watch Your Tongue” by Nasser Marghalani, “Dog & Cat” by
Robert Omura, and “Flowers, Chocolates and Candlelit Dinners” by Priscilla
Stafford, a winner of ACM’s Grace Abernethy Women’s Filmmaker Initiative
Award.
The ACM films will be preceded October 23 at 1:30 pm by the SMART Exchange
program of short films from Shanghai University.
JOIN A SPECIAL ACM RECEPTION OCTOBER 23
ACM will have a special reception – all students invited, from 4:30 – 6:00
pm at the HIFF café, up the escalator (2nd floor) from the Dole Theatres. It
will be a great chance to mix with student filmmakers, families & friends
before the ACM Night screening. The price of admission? One ticket stub from
the 1:30 Shanghai Shorts screening. Let’s show our support for our SMART
Exchange partners! The tickets for the Shanghai screenings are free – ask
for them at the HIFF Box Office, across the street in the Dole Cannery
Building, or order through <www.hiff.org>.
ACM FACULTY AND ALUMNI FILMS
* “State of Aloha,” co-produced and directed by Asst. Prof. Anne Misawa,
with the assistance of dozens of ACM students, will have its premiere
screening Sunday (Oct. 18) at 2:45 pm, and will include a panel discussion
on the film’s contributions to the discussion and analysis of the issues
raised by the 50th anniversary of Hawai‘i statehood.
* “Lychee Thieves,” directed by Kathleen Man, with Prof. Misawa as director
of photography, will screen as part of the HIFF Shorts Program #6 on Sunday
(Oct. 18) at 8:30 pm.
* “Blue Tarp City,” by Henry Mochida, screens as part of the HIFF Shorts
Program #1 Friday (Oct. 16) at 5:45 pm.
* “Stones,” by Ty Sanga screens as part of the HIFF Shorts Program #3
Saturday (Oct. 17) at 5:30 pm.
* “Layover, On the Shore,” by Christopher Yogi screens as part of the HIFF
Shorts Program #4 Sunday (Oct. 18) at 6:45 pm.
HIFF COMES TO ACM
The strong ACM-HIFF partnership traditionally brings film luminaries to
campus. Several visits are scheduled this year, including:
* Co-sponsored with the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, NETPAC juror Ian
Conrich will speak October 21 at noon in Moore Hall 319 (Tokioka Room) on
“New Zealand Cinema: Best Kept Secret.” Dr. Conrich was the founding
director of the Centre for New Zealand Studies at the University of London.
NETPAC is the Network for the Promotion of Asian (and Pacific) Cinema.
* Director Quentin Lee, whose film “The People I’ve Slept With” is part of
HIFF’s American Immigrant Filmmakers on Profile, will speak with our Master
Class (ACM 385) on Friday (October 16) in Crawford 115. All students are
welcome. We’re hoping some of the cast from this breakout film will join us,
too.
HIFF MASTER CLASSES & FREE WORKSHOPS
A group of ACM Animation students have formed an official RIO (Registered
HIFF is a celebration of filmmaking as well as films. As part of HIFF’s 2009
theme of honoring
the made-in-Hawai‘i ABC series “Lost,” there will be three Master Classes at
the Regal Dole Theatres on Saturday (Oct. 17), all conducted by “Lost”
producers, directors & crew:
* Noon – Producing and Directing a Hit Show
* 2 pm – Bringing the Design of Each Episode Together
* 4 pm – Costume & Props.
Tickets are required and available through the HIFF Box Office or online at
<www.hiff.org>
There are also some free workshops and screenings during HIFF to spark any
student filmmaker’s interest, all at the Regal Dole Cannery Theatres:
* J.P. Chan presents: Don’t Quit Your Day Job, a Screening and Seminar, Oct.
24 at 1:30 pm. Learn Chan’s secrets to low/no budget filmmaking.
* Student Showcase, a screening of student films from Hawai‘i and the
Mainland, Oct. 24 at 10 am.
* NETPAC Presents: A Tribute to Madame Kawakita, a Seminar, Oct. 17, 3:30
pm, featuring renowned film historian and critic Donald Richie, discussing
Madame Kawakita’s tremendous influence on Japanese Cinema. The NETPAC
program also features free screenings of several classics of Japanese Cinema
this week, including “Rashomon” (Friday, 6:15 pm), “Ikiru” (Saturday, 5:45
pm), “Black Rain” (Sunday, 2:45 pm), and “Zigenurweisen,” (Sunday, 6 pm).
* State of Film Industry in Hawai‘i, Oct. 24 at 12:30 pm. This one is in the
Dole Ballrooms, above the theatres.
REMINDER: UNDECLARED MAJORS
Following our successful shifting of majors from IS to the new ACM Bachelor
of Arts major, we still have a significant number of students whose
application to become a major has been accepted, but have yet to complete
the Colleges of Arts & Sciences Major Declaration form and process. First
step is complete an Academic Planning session with your ACM advisor. You can
then attach a copy of your plan to the A&S Declaration of Major form.
All A&S Major declarations must be complete by the end of this month, or
students will be dropped from the ACM major listing.
Academic planning & advising forms are available on our website at
<www.hawaii.edu/acm>.
WIN $1,500 TO PRODUCE YOUR FILM
ACM’s Screenwriting competitions are underway. You’ll see the flyers posted
around Crawford Hall. There are three awards for Fall entries that will
allow you to produce a winning screenplay in the Spring. Each award – the
Grace Abernethy Screenwriting Award, the Women’s Filmmaking Initiative, and
the Indigenous Filmmaking Initiative – is $1,500. You can submit for more
than one award, too. For information, contact Prof. Joel Moffett at
956-3353, or <moffett@hawaii.edu>.
FESTIVALS, CONTESTS, ETC
REMINDER: ALL ACM films submitted for festivals and contests must first be
cleared by Production Manager Gregg Ambrosius. No exceptions. See him BEFORE
you send anything off.
* Tiburon Int’l Film Festival, March 18-26, 2010.
<www.tiburonfilmfestival.com > Deadline Nov. 17.
* Savannah International Animation Festival, Feb 5-6, 2010.
<www.savannahinternatonalanimationfestival.com>. Deadline Dec. 1.
* Method Fest independent film festival (showcasing acting), March 25-April
1 in Calabasas, CA. <www.methodfest.com>. Deadline Dec. 1.
* Newport Beach Film Festival, April 22-29. <www.newportbeachfilmfest.com>.
Deadline Dec. 18.
* Global Film Initiative feature film production grants (up to $10,000). <
www.globalfilm.org/granting.htm>. Deadline Jan. 15, 2010
POST YOUR CASTING CALL NOTICES ON ACM WEBSITE
Your film casting call can be posted on the ACM website. Send your flyer as
a jpg file to ACM Production Manager Gregg Ambrosius <ambrosiu@hawaii.edu> a
week before the call date, and it will go up for all to see.
Remember, no flyers should be posted on the glass on the front and back
entrance doors to Crawford Hall. They’ll be taken down, pronto.
MAKE A GIFT TO ACM
ACM welcomes donations to support our programs, which support our students.
You can make a gift online at www.uhf.hawaii.edu/acm.
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