Joel Moffett has seen the same thing happen every time he attends a screening of work by the young filmmakers at the Academy for Creative Media, the film school where he teaches screenwriting and directing.
"It’s always a revelation to me, a surprise," said Moffett, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa program. "We are telling indigenous, locally based stories that are specific and unique to Hawaii. These are not clichés and not films you have seen before."
This is the best time of year for audiences to see those stories and to experience the creative potential of the next generation of Hawaii moviemakers.
The ACM Film Screening Showcase, which screened 31 short student films last week, will announce the winners Friday. The showcase, now in its third year, is the premier event on the school’s calendar, Moffett said.
Faculty members judge the student winners in 17 categories. Audiences also have a chance to vote, casting ballots in a contest that combines the same student films and alumni projects.
The films, all no longer than 20 minutes, include narratives, documentaries, experimental projects and animated features.
Some of the winning films will be screened at the awards ceremony, which is free and open to the public. The event is at the UH Art Department auditorium at 6 p.m.
Even if students don’t win, the showcase is an opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to see how their story affects audiences, said Laurie Arakaki, a 2011 academy graduate now studying at New York University.
"Validation may be too big a word for it, but it is definitely important for you as a filmmaker to see how people react to something you put up there on a screen," she said. "The reason we make movies is for people to watch, so having this festival where students can enter and a lot of their work gets shown is big."
Arakaki won the top audience award last year with her film "I Spy." Her story followed a woman who decides to stalk her husband after he dumps her for a younger woman, and in the process she discovers the younger woman is being stalked by her own ex.
Making the film, her first outside-of-class assignment, was typical of the kind of time and emotion the academy students put into their work, Arakaki said.
"It’s like having a child," she said. "We called them our babies. It takes a lot of passion, a lot of dedication. It’s not just a homework assignment. It’s your life."
"MADISON COUNTY," the horror film that features Hawaii Kai actress Joanna Sotomura, will be available May 8 on DVD and as a digital download from iTunes and Amazon, according to the distributor, Image Entertainment. No theatrical release is set, but it was the only film to sell out at last fall’s Screamfest Horror Film Festival.
Eric England, who wrote and directed the film, has nothing but praise for the young actress. "Joanna was amazing to work with and is a true, natural talent," he said. "She embodies every emotion inside her eyes. It’s hard for the camera to not love her."
"HAWAII FIVE-0" wrapped up its second season at about 5 a.m. Thursday after an all-night shoot, but the episode will likely keep the production team busy right up to the May 14 air date.
The cast is expected back sometime in July.
CBS said last week that no decision has been made about whether to host another Sunset on the Beach premiere.
The network delighted fans at the start of the show’s first two seasons by screening the season premiere ahead of the network’s prime-time air date. Thousands of fans flocked to Waikiki to see "Five-0" and catch the red-carpet arrivals of the stars.
AND that’s a wrap …
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Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.
