Two days after the death of her brother-in-law, jazz musician Thomas Chapin, Hawaii documentary filmmaker Stephanie Castillo found herself listening to a public radio tribute. In that moment she realized she had to make a film about Chapin, a man The New York Times called "one of the more exuberant saxophonists and bandleaders in jazz."
That was in 1998. Today, after 15 years, she is trying to make that film a reality with a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000.
The film would include a segment shot during Chapin’s only Hawaii performance, at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1994. The concert, which Castillo helped arrange, surprised local jazz fans.
"It was different," said the 64-year-old Castillo, who lives on Kauai. "It was not smooth jazz or cool jazz. It was really pushing-the-envelope jazz and, therefore, I think, as one person said, it was stimulating jazz. When you listened to Thomas you were surprised. You were taken away."
The documentary, "Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story," would be Castillo’s 10th film since 1988, the year she began a film about AIDS called "Simple Courage." That first documentary won her an Emmy.
Chapin’s life is rich material for a storyteller. He died young — at 40 — after battling leukemia for about a year. He had been in love with Castillo’s younger sister, Terri, for a decade. He played at jazz festivals around the world and recorded 15 albums. And he had lived with arrhythmia since he was a boy.
"He knew his heart could give out at any time, but he had no idea how or why or when," Castillo said. "So I think he lived his life like there was no tomorrow. I think it was in his playing but also in his living."
Chapin was forced to stop performing a few months after he was diagnosed with leukemia, Castillo said. He would try, getting on stage at benefit concerts held to help pay his bills, but it got progressively harder.
Twelve days before he died, though, at a benefit concert in his hometown of Manchester, Conn., Chapin took the stage for what became his final performance. He told the audience of 500 that his doctors believed he could probably play only for 10 minutes before he ran out of breath.
Castillo’s project trailer, which can be found on her page at www.kickstarter.com, opens with that performance.
"Yes, he did run out of breath, but he finished gracefully to a standing ovation," Castillo said. "His greatest pain was not battling leukemia, but rather being at the end of his life and not being able to play. But being able to get up there and play for 10 minutes, that was triumphant."
THERE’S big news from local indie filmmaker James Sereno and his team at Kinetic Productions. Consolidated Theatres Hawaii will screen three of their films — "6B," "Paradise Broken" and "Hang Loose" — beginning March 15 at the chain’s Pearlridge West 16.
Trailers for the films are already being shown on Pearlridge screens.
The weeklong run, which could be extended, has the potential to give the films their widest reach to date — six screenings per film each day, Sereno said.
Up to now the films have been seen only at festivals and, for "Hang Loose," online.
"It’s a big commitment," Sereno said. "I think they believe in our local stories. They believe in our local indie film scene. My hope is this can be successful and people will come out and see that we have great stories and great local filmmakers."
Lindsey Chun-Hori, the promotions and events manager at Consolidated, said the chain’s hope is to put more locally made films on the big screen.
"We are always trying to bring new types of cinema experiences to Hawaii, and being that these are made here, we thought we could build on this," she said. "It is a beginning for us, but we want to start thinking of ways to bring more to our theaters."
AND that’s a wrap. …
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.
