Guest Filmmaker program
HIFF’s Guest Filmmaker Program (GFP) connects local and visiting filmmakers with schools across Hawai‘i, offering classes a unique opportunity to learn directly from industry professionals, subject to availability. This program is available at no costs to the school.
Educators can request a free single session, either on campus or virtually, where a professional filmmaker will share insights and experiences with the students.
MEET OUR 2025 GUEST FILMMAKERS
ALEXANDER BOCCHIERI
Alexander Bocchieri is an award-winning Native Hawaiian filmmaker who lives and works in Honolulu. After graduating from the University of Hawai‘i, he turned his passion for storytelling toward documentaries that explored pressing social issues, including the acclaimed films Ola (Life) and Ike (Knowledge). He went on to direct GO FOR BROKE, a landmark war drama celebrating the acts of local Hawai‘i heroes, which screened at festivals worldwide. Alongside his regular documentary and narrative film work, Alex also directs commercials, and his recent campaign for the Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau won a Gold ADDY at the American Advertising Award for cinematography. His short film DASHER will be premiering at HIFF45.
Amy Wang
Amy Wang is a Chinese-Australian writer/director whose directorial debut SLANTED, which she also wrote and produced, won the 2025 Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize at SXSW. Shortly after graduating from AFI, Amy’s short UNNATURAL was awarded gold at the Young Director Awards at Cannes Lions 2018, and her feature script WENDI made the Black List. From there, Amy wrote on many features including CRAZY RICH ASIANS 2 for Warner Bros. On the TV side, Amy was most recently a Writer/Producer on THE BROTHERS SUN for Netflix, starring Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh and she was previously a writer on the limited series FROM SCRATCH for Netflix, starring Oscar winner Zoe Saldaña. SLANTED will have its Hawai’i premiere at HIFF45.
Anne Misawa
Having graduated from the University of Southern California’s Graduate Cinema & TV Production Program, Anne Misawa has worked internationally in various aspects of film production on numerous award-winning works. Her primary work is as a Producer, Director and as a Cinematographer. Her recent work include the feature documentary A PARADISE LOST, (as a Producer, Director of Photography, directed by Laurie Sumiye, 2025) and premiering at HIFF45. She has also worked on several films screened more recently at the Hawaiʻi Int. Film, in 2021– I WAS A SIMPLE MAN, (Co-Producer, Sundance Film Festival 2021; directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi), REEL WAHINE 3 JOY CHONG STANNARD, (Producer/ Director, awarded BEA Media Arts Festival Best in Competition Award for Microdoc, Emmy Award for series), and LAST HAWAIIAN SUGAR, (Director of Photography; directed by Déjà Bernhardt), and in 2020, the feature film STORY GAME, (Director of Photography; directed by Jason Lau).
Ben proudfoot
A two-time Academy Award®-winning documentary director and entrepreneur, Ben Proudfoot is the creative force behind Breakwater Studios. Proudfoot’s films have played at festivals including Tribeca, Sundance and Telluride. A watershed partnership with The New York Times produced some sixteen collaborations with over 10 million views including A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION, which was nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards®, and THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 94th Academy Awards®. In 2024, Proudfoot won a second Academy Award®, this time for THE LAST REPAIR SHOP. Proudfoot views real-world impact as a film’s highest achievement, advocating for THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL’s Lusia Harris’ legacy as a unsung basketball pioneer, and inspiring a $15M capital campaign for the repair facility in THE LAST REPAIR SHOP. Proudfoot was named one of Forbes “30 Under 30” for his leadership and innovation. He hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Proudfoot is an accomplished sleight-of-hand magician and has performed at The Magic Castle in Los Angeles. His latest film, THE EYES OF GHANA, will have its Hawai’i premiere at HIFF45.
BRYSON CHUN
Bryson Chun is a Native Hawaiian screenwriter who wrote on the Disney plus series DOOGIE KAMEALOHA MD and MOANA 2 for Disney animation. He has also worked in development for Mattel and Ubisoft and is a proud teaching mentor at schools and for fellowships all over the country. He has produced award-winning short and feature films in Hawai‘i that have gone on to screen for PBS, The Smithsonian Institution, The Criterion Collection, and at festivals all over the world. He also is the writer for the short film DASHER, which will be premiering at HIFF45.
dan h. lin
Daniel H. Lin is a filmmaker and photojournalist focusing on the impacts of climate change, post-colonialism, and globalization on cultural identity within Indigenous communities across the Pacific Islands and in Asia. Currently, Daniel is the Associate Director for Strategic Alliances at Nia Tero. REMATHAU is his first-ever feature film, having only worked on a handful of short film projects in the past, and will have its world premiere at HIFF45.
Elizabeth Rian
Elizabeth Rian is a writer/actor from Honolulu. Her award-winning short film, Fair, screened at multiple film festivals from HIFF to London and won several awards, including Best Comedy and Best Director. Her upcoming short film, Grace, will premiere at HIFF45, and a staged reading of her feature screenplay, ‘Opala will be performed through Hawaii’s SAG-AFTRA Conservatory Screenplay Reading series in August. Elizabeth received her BFA from Chapman University.
Gerard Elmore
Gerard is an EMMY® Award-winning creative producer, director, editor, and cinematographer. As Vice President of Film at NMG Network, he leads the development and production of branded content, editorial videos, commercials, and films. His work has earned widespread recognition, including award-winning commercial campaigns, and he was selected as a 2022 Sundance Institute Producer Intensive Fellow. His recent projects include KŪKINI, MARAHORO, and THE ARRANGEMENTS, currently screening at festivals worldwide including at HIFF45. In addition to his creative work, Gerard serves as a governor and VP of Hawai‘i for the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Regional Emmy® Awards).
Hana McEvilly
Hana McEvilly is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker and artist whose work blends animation, cultural storytelling, and visual poetry. Her short film Ho‘omau explores grief, ancestry, and healing through a dreamlike journey rooted in Hawaiian values. She is passionate about using art to connect with young people and spark meaningful conversations about identity, family, and resilience. Her short film HO‘OMAU premieres at HIFF45.
Jana Park
Born in Honolulu and raised on Molokaʻi, Jana Kealohaokeakua Park is a mixed-race Korean filmmaker, Mid-Pacific School of the Arts film production teacher, the Hawai’i International Film Festival’s HIFILM Industry Manager, and māmā to three keiki. She was featured on the Emmy-Award Winning REEL WĀHINE OF HAWAI’I Documentary Series and helped produce award-winning Hawaiʻi-made feature films MOLOKA’I BOUND (Line Producer) and MY PARTNER (UPM/Assoc Producer) as well as short films E MĀLAMA PONO WILLY BOY, FAIR, and APPA. She’s worked on dozens of television and film productions including projects with the Discovery Channel, Disney, Comedy Central, Kamehameha Schools, The Hawai’i Council for Humanities, and the Merrie Monarch Festival. She is currently the Hawaiʻi Field Producer of THE RISE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR, a feature documentary (final film of the WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR trilogy) and recently directed the short film GRACE, funded by a Pacific Islanders in Communications grant. Jana holds a B.A. in Political Science (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) and an A.A. in American Sign Language Interpreting (Los Angeles Pierce College). Her passion is producing diverse narrative and documentary films that amplify female, queer, disabled, and Asian/Indigenous voices.
Katrin York
Katrin is a filmmaker based between Hawai‘i and Alaska, originally from Siberia and trained in Los Angeles. She creates visually driven stories rooted in wild places and emotional depth. Her award-winning short Girls Riding High explores youth mental health through documentary, while her latest narrative film, BREAKING THE TIDE, continues that theme—shot on the North Shore of Oʻahu with a local cast and crew.
Ku’ulei Ka’ili
Ku’ulei is a Director and Impact Producer who blends her background in nonprofit strategy, traditional voyaging, and environmental education to share scripted and unscripted stories about identity and culture. Born in Ko‘olaupoko, O‘ahu, and raised largely in the Hawaiian diaspora, she combines filmmaking and Indigenous values together to highlight the nuanced relationships between self and place.
Laurie Sumiye
Laurie is a Japanese-American artist, animator and filmmaker born and raised in Mililani, Hawaiʻi. Her short animated documentaries, STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE, about endangered Hawaiian birds, and OF MEMORY & LOS SURES, an oral history of a Latino neighborhood in Brooklyn, have won awards and screened at DOC NYC, BAMcinemaFest, and DOCUTAH. The film was part of an acclaimed transmedia documentary produced by UnionDocs, LIVING LOS SURES, which premiered at NYFF. She was awarded filmmaking fellowships with Sundance Institute/Women in Film, Firelight Media, Jackson Wild & UnionDocs Center for Documentary Arts. She started her career in documentary creating graphics/animation for PROJECT KASHMIR by Geeta V. Patel & Senain Kheshigi and MY BROOKLYN by Kelly Anderson. Laurie was selected as an Artist-in-Residence at Blue Mountain Center (NY) and awarded their 2021 Harriet Barlow Commons Residency Award. Laurie received an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from CUNY Hunter College. Her film A PARADISE LOST will have its world premiere at HIFF45.
Lindsay Watson
Lindsay Watson is a Native Hawaiian director, actor and writer who was born and raised on the island of Maui. Lindsay can be seen starring in Netflix’s family-adventure film FINDING ‘OHANA & independent feature, THE WIND AND THE RECKONING. She wrote & directed her first short, LOTTO BOY, which is currently in post-production. Her second short film, WHAT WE CARRY, which she wrote, directed and starred in, will be premiering at HIFF45.
Ricky-Thomas Serikawa
Ricky-Thomas Kahanoʻokalokoʻakahai Kenji Serikawa is a Native Hawaiian visual storyteller based in the Hawaiian Islands. Born and raised on the east side of Oʻahu, his start to documenting and creating was and continues to be rooted from his relationship with his environment, culture, and community growing up from mountain to sea. Influenced deeply by the fleeting nature of life itself, culture, and the interconnectedness of all things living, he hopes his work not only reflects but celebrates the significance of culture & community, a love for creation, and a unique perspective on the relationship between such to inspire more of it. His short film TWISTED BRAID premieres at HIFF45.
Sonny Ganaden
Sonny Ganaden is a writer, artist, lawyer, and former state representative. His short film THE ARRANGEMENTS, premiering at HIFF45, was developed after years of work with Micronesian youth in the Kalihi community as a program director and mentor.
Ta’imua Hannemann
Ta’imua (meaning “Leading” in Samoan) is the son of a Samoan father and a Chinese Mother, raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. His training includes 3 years at London Based School IDSA, Groundlings, and various Studios in LA/HI. Ta’imua first acting experience was a Guest Star on the Apple TV series “Truth Be Told” alongside Kate Hudson. Since then he has been able to travel the world premiering his films at places like TRIBECA with his recent Lead role in the film JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA. He just wrapped his most recent project called IN STARLAND where he acts opposite Academy Award Nominee Clarence Maclin (SING SING) which will be making waves early next year. Ta’imua, on and off set, strives to be an anchor of light, inspiring others to be their full authentic self. He also stars in the short film DASHER premiering at HIFF45.