Guest Filmmaker Program
Free Program for Hawai'i-based Schools
HIFF’s Guest Filmmaker Program connects Hawai‘i schools with local and visiting filmmakers, giving students the opportunity to learn directly from working professionals in the film industry. The program is free for schools, with sessions available subject to filmmaker availability.
Educators can request a free, one-time classroom session, held either on campus or virtually. Guest filmmakers share their experiences, insights, and expertise, giving students insight into careers in filmmaking and the creative process.
2026 HIFF GUEST FILMMAKERS
AGGY (ALEX) TARRANT
Aggy Tarrant is an actor from Auckland, New Zealand, Aotearoa and is of Maori, Samoan, and Niuean descent. He is a 2012 graduate of the prestigious Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. Following his training, Tarrant appeared in a range of successful television series, including: LORD OF THE RINGS: RINGS OF POWER, DMV, NCIS: HAWAII, SGT HAANE, TATAU, NIGHT RAIDERS, WHEN WE GO TO WAR, 800 WORDS, FILTHY RICH, SHORTLAND STREET, SEACHANGE, REMARKABLE PLACE TO DIE, and many more.
ʻĀina Paikai
ʻĀina Paikai is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker who wrote and directed the short-film HAWAIIAN SOUL (2020), which won several awards and qualified for the 2023 Oscars®. Da Farm is his latest short-film styled in the mockumentary genre, similar to The Office.
Alex Cantatore
Alex’s cultural and environment documentary work in Hawai‘i has shaped his vision as a documentarian devoted to community impact. His 2021 short documentary KUMU NIU won the 2022 award for Best Environmental Short Film at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival, the Jackson Wild Media Award for Best Human Planet – Short Form and has been broadcast nationally on PBS. Alex’s body of non-profit video work promotes the health of our people and planet, revitalization of indigenous cultures, and investment in youth as the future stewards of our communities.
Alexander Bocchieri
Alex is an award-winning Native Hawaiian filmmaker who lives and works in Honolulu. In 2022, Alex was selected to be a part of the Disney Launchpad Program, where he directed a film called THE ROOF which is available to stream on Disney+. His most recent project, DASHER, won the top prize at the 2025 Hawai‘i International Film Festival, which qualifies the film for an Academy Award Nomination. His narrative and documentary films have been shown at film festivals around the world, including Hawai’i, Los Angeles, Toronto, Aspen, London, Auckland, Shanghai, and more.
Anette Arinix
Anette Arinix is a Samoan-Pasifika writer, producer, actor, and comedian from Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. She is the founder of For Da Cousins, a Pasifika-centered production company dedicated to telling stories that celebrate island communities through comedy and heartfelt storytelling. Her work has been recognized by ʻOhina Labs, HOCCI, and the PEAK Producer & Executive Fellowship, and she is passionate about creating opportunities for Pacific Islander creatives both on and off screen.
Aubrey Meiling
Aubrey Meiling is a Chinese adoptee filmmaker from St. Petersburg, Florida, and a graduate of the University of Central Florida. She earned a Co-Producer credit on Liz Sargent’s feature debut, TAKE ME HOME, the 2025 AT&T Untold Stories winner, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in U.S. Dramatic Competition, receiving the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, before its international premiere at Berlinale in Perspectives.
Aukai Ligairi
Aukai is a Pasifika Filmmaker with roots in Fiji and Hawaiʻi. Aukai’s award-winning debut documentary, CLEANFLIX, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed by Netflix. Aukai served as Director and Field Producer for three seasons of National Geographic’s LIFE BELOW ZERO: FIRST ALASKANS, the first American docuseries with an indigenous-lead cast. Most recently he directed a Hawaiʻi-based short documentary for PBS, KŪKULU, and Cook Islands-based narrative short EI, both of which are screening at HIFF 2026. Also in 2026 Aukai will be directing a science fiction thriller set in Hawaiʻi.
BEN PROUDFOOT
Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, Ben Proudfoot is a two-time Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and the founder and CEO of Breakwater Studios, leading a filmmaking staff producing original and commissioned documentaries. His work includes Oscar®-nominated A Concerto is a Conversation, and Oscar®-winning THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL AND THE LAST REPAIR SHOP.
Bryson Chun
Bryson Chun is a Native Hawaiian screenwriter who wrote on MOANA 2 and the Disney plus series DOOGIE KAMEALOHA MD. 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.
Daniel A. Kelin II
Daniel A. Kelin II is a distinguished theater artist, filmmaker, and educator who has dedicated his career to amplifying underrepresented stories and expanding creative opportunities for local communities. During the pandemic, he began creating short animated & puppet films, notably the award-winning “After the Endling,” featured in 11 international festivals and aired on PBS and “When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again,” named Best Experimental Animation short film in the Festival Internacional de Animación in Uruguay. He is currently working on a couple of short puppet films about Hawai’i’s lesser known endangered creatures.
GERARD ELMORE
Gerard Elmore is an Indigenous Maya American producer, director, writer, DP, and editor. He serves as Vice President of Film at NMG Network, where he leads the development of branded content, editorial videos, commercials, and films, and as Executive Director of ʻOhina, an artist collective that nurtures, cultivates, promotes, and showcases Hawaiʻi filmmakers and their work. He is a 2022 Sundance Institute Producer Intensive Fellow for the feature film LAST HAWAIIAN SUGAR. Through ʻOhina’s lab mentorship program (ohina.org), Gerard has helped bring films to festivals worldwide and national distribution, including KĀLEWA & OTHER PEOPLE, now part of the Criterion Collection, and THE ARRANGEMENTS, sponsored by Pacific Islanders in Communications and featured on AMC+ and Sundance Now via the Pacific Islanders Film Festival. He serves on the Board of Governors of the San Francisco/Northern California Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS, the Emmy® Awards), where he chairs the Education Committee. Gerard’s current production work includes THE TOURIST CURSE, directed by Alexander Bocchieri, written by Seana Kofoed, a Hawaiʻi-set adventure comedy on which he serves as both producer and director of photography. The film recently completed principal photography and is now in post-production.
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is an Emmy Award-nominated actor, director, and filmmaker best known for his acclaimed performance as Desmond Hume in LOST, which earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination. His television credits include THE 100, SCANDAL, MACGYVER, THE PASSAGE, and MARVEL’S INHUMANS, while his film work includes THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THE WIND & THE RECKONING, and JAMOJAYA. As a filmmaker, he wrote, directed, and starred in the award-winning short DRESS and SALVADOR, which premiered at the Hawai’i International Film Festival in 2025, and directed episodes of THE 100. Born in Peru and raised in Trinidad and Scotland, Cusick is now based in Hawai’i, where he also serves as President of SAG-AFTRA Hawai’i.
jana park
Jana Park is a film producer/director born on Oahu and raised on Molokai. Her award-winning work spans narrative and documentary film, with a focus on amplifying female, queer, disabled, and Asian and Indigenous voices. She serves as HIFILM Industry Manager at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, is the Film and Theatre Program Head at Mid-Pacific Institute, and is passionate about building Hawaiʻi’s independent filmmaking community.
JASON CHEN
Jason currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive
Producer of DESERT ECLIPSE, a creative production company pioneering modular AI-driven Animation and Virtual production workflows. This innovative approach honors the legacy of film while embracing the evolution of storytelling, empowering creatives to harness technology as a dynamic toolset for developing original IPs across linear content, interactive gaming, animation and visual effects.
JORDAN & AARON KANDELL
Identical twin brothers Aaron & Jordan Kandell are screenwriters and producers best known for their work on the survival-romance “Adrift”, and Disney’s “Moana”. Born and raised in Hawai’i, the Kandells are particularly noted for their ability to maintain emotional intimacy and strong character work within epic scenarios, making them versatile writers who work across all genres. The Kandells have developed notable projects for legendary directors including: Jon M. Chu, Destin Daniel Cretton, Robert Zemeckis, Clint Eastwood, Chris Columbus, Peter Farrelly, and Ron Howard. And have written feature film and television projects for Disney, Warner Brothers, Fox, Paramount, HBO, Apple, and Netflix.
lauren luke
Lauren Luke is a Native Hawaiian, Filipina, and Chinese writer, director, and producer from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, and a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her work explores family, culture, identity, and the experience of growing up in Hawaiʻi, including her latest short film, Sons Are Not Earthbound. She hopes to build a career telling deeply rooted stories from Hawaiʻi and communities around the world, using filmmaking as a way to connect people across cultures.
Logan Alcosiba
Logan Alcosiba is an Asian Pasifika transgender model, actress, and filmmaker. Tied to agencies in Los Angeles, New York, and London, she’s worked international modeling campaigns with brands like Nike, Sephora, and Valentino. Embracing film, she’s garnered support from Sundance, HIFILM, and CAPE, with festival showcases in Palm Springs ShortFest, National Film Festival for Talented Youth, LA Shorts, and Hawai’i International Film Festival. She strives to create stories that spark joy and conversation.
Lucinda Tarrant
Lucinda is a versatile New Zealand actress and film maker, she is known for her compelling performances across film, television, and stage. With a career spanning over a decade, Lucinda has also built a strong career as an acting coach and educator.
mark carpenter
Mark Carpenter is an award-winning news anchor and seasoned storyteller with more than a decade of experience delivering trusted news coverage across Hawaii and beyond. Born and raised in Hawaii, Mark returned to Hawaii News Now in 2020 after spending five years in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he served as Sports Director in a top-10 media market. Throughout his career, Mark’s work has been recognized by his peers with multiple Emmy Awards and Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for collaborative storytelling, breaking news coverage, and community-centered reporting. He recently completed his first full-length documentary, **PROTECTING KAHO’OLAWE: 50 YEARS OF ALOHA AINA**, which explores the legacy of the Protect Kaho’olawe ‘Ohana, the sacrifices and courage of those who fought to defend the island, and the decades long-effort to restore one of Hawaii’s most sacred places.
Matt Yamashita
Matt Yamashita is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker from the Hawaiian Island of Molokai primarily recognized for his freelance documentary work since 2000. He is known for documentaries such as SONS OF HALAWA and THE ROOTS OF ‘ULU, which have seen national and international broadcast. He has also written, produced, and directed award-winning independent short narrative films.
Nicholas B. Gianforti
Nicholas B. Gianforti is an actor/filmmaker. Nick was a regular Manoa Valley Theatre cast member in plays that include Yellow Face, Flaming Idiots, Little Shop of Horrors, and Speed-the-Plow and various shows in Hawai’i Shakespeare Festival. Nick has been in feature films and appeared on TV shows like Hawaiʻi 5-0 and Magnum PI. Nick has also done a slew of short films, webseries, and commercials. Nick studied acting at the prestigious Meisner technique school Playhouse West, and directing and cinematography at UCLA Extension. Nick is an award-winning writer. His script Oli won the ʻOhina & Creative Industries Award during the 2019 ʻOhina Labs and is currently in post-production.
SUNG KANG
Sung Kang is a filmmaker and actor best known for his work in the Fast and the Furious franchise of films. He is currently preparing to release his sophomore film as a director DRIFTER, a love letter to the car community, which he wrote, directs, and stars in.
TIFFANY LIU
Tiffany Liu is a Chinese American filmmaker born and raised in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, whose work explores culture, family, and identity while uplifting AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) representation. A recent University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa graduate with degrees in Cinematic Arts with a focus in Digital Cinema and Communication, she is an award-winning writer, director, and producer whose films have premiered at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, including WINNER (Writer/Director), recipient of the 2025 HIFF BMW Hawaiʻi Driven Student Filmmaker Award, and STAINED (Writer/Director), her latest capstone film, which will be premiering at HIFF46. Tiffany was also a HIFF Next Gen Filmmaking Fellow, served on the HIFF ʻŌpio Fest jury, participated in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Film Studies Program and the HIFILM Producers Lab as the producer of HUIKALA (directed by Justin Pascua), and was a finalist for the TV Academy Foundation Scripted Production Program.
ZILLA BARBOSA
Raised in Hawaiʻi, Brazilian-American filmmaker, director, and producer Zilla Barbosa creates deeply human, character-driven films that explore the intersections of music, culture, identity, and community while amplifying voices too often overlooked. Drawing from a career spanning the music industry, public radio, and documentary filmmaking in both Hawaiʻi and Los Angeles. She is committed to building trust with the communities she films, creating stories that resonate locally while connecting with audiences globally. Her debut feature documentary, MAKING THE LINE, offers an unprecedented look inside the world of competitive hula, revealing its artistry, athleticism, and profound cultural significance. Guided by the Hawaiian value of pono—respect, balance, and integrity—Barbosa approaches the film as both a celebration of hula and a commitment to honoring the people who entrusted her with their stories. With MAKING THE LINE, she aims to create a work that honors Hawaiian history, reflects contemporary realities, and stands as a landmark in Indigenous nonfiction cinema for years to come.