Kapiolani Community College Student Film Premieres at Hawaii Film Festivals

Kapiʻolani Community College

A recently completed short film animation by students of the 2002—2003 Kapiʻolani Community College New Media Arts practicum class will be showing at some of the most prestigious film festivals in the state. The film, entitled "Sugar Raid," will be shown at the ʻOhina Short Film Showcase, running today and tomorrow, Oct. 17-18, at the Doris Duke Theatre at The Honolulu Academy of Arts, and at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, Oct. 30 — Nov. 9. It also played in September at the Cinema Paradise Film Festival.

Characterized as a "Tom and Jerry"-flavored cartoon, the seven-minute film takes place in a post-apocalyptic super market with a cast of characters comprised entirely of mutant candies. Although obviously appealing to children, the students designed the project with a mature audience in mind.

A two-dimensional animation, "Sugar Raid" displays the talents and creativity of 12 of Kapiʻolani CC‘s students—Tracy Hirano, Brad Shimabukuro, Earl Gamiao, Nikita Wong, Michelle Shishido, Warren Houghtailing, Lance Choe, Raymond Lee, Garrick Oshiro, Dae Sung Han, Chan Fang Co and Corey Marlatt. Violet Murakami, assistant professor in art at Kapiʻolani CC, was their instructor for the three-semester long practicum. Produced entirely with digital technology, the students created the concept, storyboards, animatics, matte paintings, script, music and voice acting for the project.

In the spring of 2004, the Kapiʻolani CC students hope to submit their project to mainland film festivals and are planning to produce a dubbed version for possible submission to animation film festivals in Japan. The students hope to eventually produce a series based on the story for a wider audience.