Guest Filmmaker Program - 2009

The 2010 Guest Filmmaker Program details will be announced in August 2010.

Classroom Visits

(open to primary & secondary students on O'ahu)

Visiting filmmakers will help to enrich classes such as media production, journalism, language arts, foreign language and social studies. These visits will offer the logistical benefit of bringing speakers into classrooms rather than requiring field trips. Students will learn first-hand from successful professionals in the filmmaking/media industry. Teachers will be encouraged to plan activities that will involve students interacting with their guest speakers.

Brent Anbe

Hawaii filmmaker Brent Anbe was born and raised on Oahu and has been producing and directing independent film projects and music videos since graduating from the University of Hawaii’s Communications program.  Brent worked in commercial film production for three years, for companies such as Pacific Focus and Shooters. For the past five years, Brent has worked for the Hawaii Film Office. As a Film Industry Development Specialist, Brent assists local, national, and international film projects with filming and permitting on all islands.

Brent is also a board member and programmer for the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival and has produced videos for the Miss Hawaii USA Pageant in association with Gripsmith LLC.

The 2009 Hawaii International Film Festival marks the world premiere of Brent’s first narrative comedy AJUMMA! – ARE YOU KRAZY? an over the top comedy inspired by Brent’s family members and co-workers, and the HIFF fans who are all madly addicted to Korean Soap Operas and K-stars.

S. Leo Chiang

Born and raised in Taiwan, Leo immigrated to the US as a teenager and received an MFA in film production from University of Southern California before beginning his filmmaking career. As a film student, Leo was commissioned by the Directors Guild of America to direct and edit DIRECTING: HOW TO GET THERE, for which he documented early careers of several well-known directors including Robert Wise, Norman Jewison, and Steven Spielberg.  

His other films include TO YOU SWEETHEART, ALOHA, about the 94-year-old 'ukulele master Bill Tapia (HIFF ‘04 “Sunset on the Beach”; PBS broadcast ’06; Audience Award at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival ‘05), ONE + ONE, a documentary about mixed HIV-status couples (CINE Golden Eagle Award ’02; Cable Positive Award ‘01), SAFE JOURNEY, a short fiction film (PlanetOut.com Short Movie Award 02 - Audience Award, Drama), and his most recent film, A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES about the transformation of the Vietnamese-American community in post-Katrina New Orleans East (HIFF ‘09; Independent Lens ‘10). Leo also collaborates with other documentarians as an editor (TRUE-HEARTED VIXEN, POV ’01; RECALLING ORANGE COUNTY, PBS/VOCES ‘06) and as a cameraman, IT'S STILL ELEMENTARY, ’09; ASK NOT, Independent Lens ’09). Leo is an active member of New Day Films, the social-issue documentary distribution co-operative.

Jackson Kuehn

The son of a government official, Jackson Kuehn was born in Austin, Texas. He was raised across the United States, from a military base in Virginia to a farm in rural Texas and in big cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington DC and New York City. Jackson decided to put his ability to acclimatize himself quickly to use by studying acting at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and T. Schreiber Studio. Jackson has appeared on numerous television shows which includes a role opposite Golden Globe winner Michael Chiklis on The Shield as well as dozens of indie films. Jackson most recently stars as the quirky lead in MADE IN CHINA, the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature Film at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. MADE IN CHINA will screen at this year's HIFF!

Quentin Lee

Quentin Lee’s feature documentary, 0506HK (2007), documents Lee’s return to Hong Kong, where he was born and raised. As he explores his desire to move back there from Los Angeles, he interviews local artists, filmmakers, friends, and family about why they are in Hong Kong and why they choose to be there. With humor and wit, Lee explores culture, belonging, politics, and ultimately the question of where the best place is for him to exist as a filmmaker. 

Lee’s first feature film, SHOPPING FOR FANGS, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1997.  He wrote and co-directed the film with Justin Lin, as well as produced and self-distributed it through Margin Films, a company he founded in 1997.  Other narrative feature films produced and directed by Lee are DRIFT (2000) and ETHAN MAO (2004).  In the fall, he is publishing Campus Ghost Story, a horror graphic novel with co-creator, John Hahn. 

Lee’s latest film, THE PEOPLE I'VE SLEPT WITH (2009), a comedy, will be shown at this year’s Hawaii International Film Festival.

Joseph Mathew-Varghese

Joseph Mathew-Varghese came to the United States in 1994 with the intention of joining an MBA program. Instead, he enrolled in Arts school to fulfill a personal dream of becoming a photographer. After freelancing as a photojournalist for AP's Baltimore bureau, Mathew took on the more challenging format of feature-length documentary filmmaking. 

He completed his first feature documentary, THE LAST SEASON: THE LIFE AND DEMOLITION OF BALTIMORE'S MEMORIAL STADIUM in 2003. The film follows the community’s reaction to the demolition of a local landmark.  The film premiered to sold out audiences at the Maryland Film Festival and has become a local favorite and bestseller. 

His second film, CROSSING ARIZONA, examines illegal immigration thru the lives and actions of the people at the center of the flashpoint, those living along the Arizona-Sonora border. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and has been commissioned for television around the world. (www.crossingaz.com) 

Joseph now lives New York.  BOMBAY SUMMER is his first narrative feature film.

Mitsuhiro Mihara

Born in Kyoto, 1964, Mihara became involved with film production while attending the Osaka University of Arts. Mihara’s debut MANATSU NO VITAMIN won the independent film prize at the Osaka Film Festival. Mihara went on to direct youth sports films such as MOEYO PING PONG (1997), HEROINE! NANIWA BOMBERS (1998), DODGE-A-GO-GO (2002) and family films including ASHITA, WA, KITTO (2000). He is also active in the TV industry, directing episodes of the popular series KEITAI DEKA. In 2004, Mihara directed PHOTO ALBUM OF THE VILLAGE, a moving story set in the beautiful mountainous regions of Shikoku. At the 9th Shanghai International Film Festival PHOTO ALBUM OF THE VILLAGE won Golden Goblets for Best Film and Best Actor for Tatsuya Fuji’s lead performance.

Kazushi Miki

Miki was born in Hyogo Prefecture In 1955.  He worked as the CF planner and director at the ad agency, then established his own production company, Video Planning Inc. in 1988. As a producer, Miki produced such films as SWING MAN (1999 Dir. Tetsu Maeda), PAKODATE-JIN (2002, Dir. Tetsu Maeda), SHANGRI-LA (2002, Dir. Takashi Miike).  In 2004, he produced Director Mitsuhiro Mihara’s PHOTO ALBUM OF THE VILLAGE which won Best Film and Best Actor at the 9th Shanghai International Film Festival. His recent film is a hit tearjerker DEAR MY LOVE (aka. LOVE LETTERS AT SIXTY) directed by Yoshihiro Fukagawa.  Kazushi Miki’s FLAVOR OF HAPPINESS is playing at this year’s HIFF!

Anne Misawa

Anne Misawa was raised in Hawaii.  Having graduated from University of Southern California’s Graduate Film and Television Program, she has worked internationally in producing, directing, cinematography, and editing.  Her primary work is as a Director and Director of Photography.  Directorial credits include: WAKING MELE, (Sundance 2000 Film Festival), and EDEN'S CURVE, (Emerging Film Best feature Award, NCGLFF,2003,) amongst others.  Her work as cinematographer include many award-winning films: TREELESS MOUNTAIN, 2008, directed by So Yong Kim, in Korea,  (Toronto Int. Film Festival, Berlin Int. Film Festival, and New Directors/ New Films), is currently in theaters, KAMEA, (Hawaii Int. Film Festival 2004 Best Short Award), TIME OUT, (directed by Xelinda Yancy, executive produced by John Singleton, HBO Award), SALT, (Caligari Award for Innovative Filmmaking at Berlin Int. Film Festival, 2003), LIV, (directed by Edoardo Ponti, executive produced by Robert Altman and Michaelangelo Antonioni, Venice Int. Film Festival, 1998).   

She has also edited various projects including the feature PUNKS, (directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, Sundance 2000 Film Festival, Best Independent Feature Film Award at the Cleveland Int. Film Festival.)  Anne also teaches film production at the Academy for Creative Media, University of Hawai’i as an Assistant Professor where she has produced & directed the feature length documentary, STATE OF ALOHA, on Hawaii Statehood, premiering at the Hawaii Int. Film Festival, 2009.

Hiroshi Watanabe

Hiroshi Watanabe was born in Tokyo, Japan. After working for many theatre productions and some films there, he moved to the U.S.  He has had roles in theatre productions such as ODD COUPLES and PILLOW TALK, and he has acted in films such as BIG DREAMS LITTLE TOKYO, THE LAST SAMURAI and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. WHITE ON RICE is Watanabe’s first time to play a leading part. It is very exciting for him!

Suzi Yoonessi

Director, writer Suzi Yoonessi received the Jerome Foundation's New York Media Arts Grant for VERN (2004), which she wrote, directed, and produced. VERN was a finalist for the Roy W. Dean Foundation Grant, is in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and is being distributed by the National Film Network.

Yoonessi’s short film DEAR LEMON LIMA, received a 2006 Jerome Foundation NYC Media Arts Grant, a 2007 All Roads Foundation grant and the feature script of DEAR LEMON LIMA, was recognized by 2006 Tribeca All Access Connects, 2006 IFP No Borders Market, 2007 Film Independent Screenwriters and Producers lab and 2008 Film Independent Directors lab. DEAR LEMON LIMA, is also an official selection of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival, and received the Cross-Cultural Award at the China-American Film Festival, a Special Jury Recognition for Directing and Cinematography at the 41st Brooklyn Arts Council Film Festival and a Golden Starfish Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Shorts International is distributing the short film.

Yoonessi associate produced the Cannes and Sundance award-winning “ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW” (2005), written and directed by Miranda July, for IFC Films & Film Four (UK), with frequent collaborator producer, Gina Kwon. Yoonessi received her BFA from San Francisco Art Institute, and her MFA from Columbia University where she was a recipient of the FMI Directing Fellowship.

Important Note: The full feature film of DEAR LEMON LIMA, will be shown for FREE on October 20 as part of HIFF’s Cultural and Visual Literacy Program.  She will not be attending the free screening but is available for a class visit.  Please contact Minette at minette@hiff.org if you would like to participate in the screening of this film.

Video Conferences

(open to students statewide, grades 3-12)

The Department of Education Teleschool Branch will help coordinate one-hour video conferences featuring filmmakers who will share clips of their work and interact with students via video monitors. Prior to the conferences, teachers will be asked to collect questions for the speakers from their students. These questions will be forwarded to the speakers to help them prepare for the discussions. The conferences will be open to all public and private schools with compatible video conferencing capabilities. (The conferences may also be taped for inclusion in the video archive that is visible within the DOE network.)

J.P. Chan

J.P. Chan is a self-taught filmmaker and playwright living in New York City.  His award-winning short films have screened at film festivals around the world. This year, HIFF will be showing Chan's latest short, I DON'T SLEEP I DREAM. His plays have had productions and readings in New York City and Chicago. Chan is a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, a collective that facilitates peer-to-peer exchanges and collaborations among some of the country's brightest emerging Asian American playwrights. He holds a graduate degree in urban planning from NYU and was born in New Jersey to working class immigrant parents. J.P. Chan will be giving a free filmmaking workshop at HIFF, "Don't Quit Your Day Job".

Tze Chun

Tze (pronounced "Z") Chun is a filmmaker working out of New York City. He was born in Chicago and raised outside of Boston, and received his bachelor's degree in film studies at Columbia University. His debut feature CHILDREN OF INVENTION premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and won Grand Jury Prizes for Best Narrative Feature at the Newport International Film Festival, Independent Film Festival of Boston, and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and Special Jury Prizes at the Sarasota, Nashville, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, and San Francisco International Asian American Film Festivals.

His short film WINDOWBREAKER was selected to play at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, as well as over thirty other high-profile international festivals. It won the audience award at the 2006 New York City Short Film Festival and best short film at the 2007 Vietnamese International Film Festival. That same year, Chun was selected to participate in Tribeca Film Festival's All Access Program with his feature ARTIFICIAL DISSEMINATION and IFP's No Borders International Co-Production Market with his feature YOU'RE A BIG GIRL NOW (also recently selected for the Sundance Producers Lab). In the summer of 2007, Chun was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film."

Along with his writing partner Mike Weiss, Chun recently served as a staff writer on Darren Star's ABC's Primetime Drama CASHMERE MAFIA, created by Kevin Wade and starring Lucy Liu. Chun and Weiss worked under showrunner Jeff Rake, and wrote episode seven, DOG EAT DOG, which aired in February 2008. The pair was hired for the show off their original pilot, GETTING GOOD, a tongue-in-cheek drama set in the uber-competitive world of Manhattan private school admissions.

Chun also works as a painter and visual artist. He is represented at CVZContemporary gallery in Soho, and has commissioned portraits in private residences in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, and New Orleans. Chun also painted the original artwork for the poster of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Academy-Award nominated HALF NELSON (THINKFilm) as well as the children's book drawings used in the film.

Karren Karagulian

Karren Karagulian was born in 1969 in Yerevan, Armenia. After school, he served for two years in St. Petersburg for the Russian Army. At the age of 22, he immigrated to New York.  After playing a lead role in Koorosh Yaraghi's short film, MEN IN PATIENCE, he played minor roles in two Sean Baker films, FOUR LETTER WORDS and TAKE OUT.  (Sean Baker’s latest film, Prince of Broadway, is showing at this year’s HIFF!)  PRINCE OF BROADWAY is Karren’s first leading role in a feature film.