I Was a Simple Man

Mountain Woman

Late 18th century, Tohoku. An outcast girl, Rin lives in a village suffering from famine. She draws strength from Mt. Hayachine, where the spirits of humans ascend after passing.

Who Is Arthur Chu?

Documentary feature about 11-time Jeopardy! champion and Internet iconoclast, Arthur Chu.

August at Akiko's

A saxophonist who grew up in Hawaii returns to the state and stays at a Buddhist bed and breakfast.

Suddenly, Honolulu

Director's statement: "Another sketch in an ongoing look at transitions on Oahu, this time looking at places from my youth: my childhood home, theaters, malls, skate parks, nighttime beach parties, the state mental hospital, summer bon dances."

Ghosts

Living out his last days in the north shore of Hawaii, an old Japanese man is visited by the ghosts of his past.

Occasionally, I Saw Glimpses of Hawai'i

An audio-visual collage looking at 100 years of Hollywood representation of Hawai'i.

Suddenly, Honolulu

Director's statement: "Back home in Hawaii this past summer, the thing that mesmerized me most was the massive amounts of development in the city. This shifting skyline — 22 condos going up in Kakaako alone, I’m told. I’m neither for nor against all this change but I’m not ambivalent either, transitions are always powerful."

November Ninth, We Stayed Up Late

After a night of drinking in Los Angeles, Mark and Natalie, two transplants from Hawaii, retire to a friend's apartment where their drunken discussion touches upon notions of art, loneliness, and the inability to communicate.

Maps

A young traveler decides to sneak into a bookstore after hours for an overnight stay.

Layover, on the Shore

A minimalist, meditative film centering around an aimless young filmmaker in contemporary Honolulu, and the film he subsequently makes about his home.

a still place

A meditation session beginning just before dawn and continuing in real time as the sun rises.

Makoto: or, Honesty

The filmmaker travels home to Hawaii to confront the death of his father, and finds peace through the simple act of talking.