Students screen films in Shanghai

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: May 19, 2010

ACM and Shanghai University students working on the film “Jinxian Ju" in Shanghai in June 2009
ACM and Shanghai University students working on the film “Jinxian Ju" in Shanghai in June 2009
Six student filmmakers from the UH Mānoa Academy for Creative Media (ACM) have been invited to show their films at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June. The six will also make a film with Shanghai University student counterparts in the SMART (Student Media Art) Exchange. This exclusive U.S.-China student film co-production is part of the SMART (Student Media Art) Exchange program, partnering the two universities with the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) and the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).
 
The films include a drama set at the time of the birth of President Barack Obama, a pidgin-laced comedy, and documentaries about local identity.
 
Several of the six films were also winners at the recent ACM Awards Ceremony, celebrating the best student films of the year:
 
  • “Born in Hawai‘i,” by Paulo Kobayashi, winner of the Best Drama Award.
  • “A New Day,” by Jeremy Johnson, a Best Directing and Best Drama nominee.
  • “Guitar Hero,” directed by Marshal Wu.
  • “Scrambled Eggs,” by Jamie Peak, and “Town vs. Country,” by Pablo Paz, both Best  Documentary nominees.
  • “Yuen’s Grocery, Nanakuli” by Ka’aina Paikai and Gloria Pan, the Audience Favorite winner.
“Yuen’s Grocery, Nanakuli” was one of the SMART films co-produced with Shanghai University students attending the 2009 Hawai‘i International Film Festival and participating in ACM’s Filmmaker Development Workshop.
 
The SMART Exchange program brings student films and filmmakers from ACM to Shanghai, and from Shanghai University to Honolulu each year as part of the relationship between the Hawai‘i and Shanghai International Film Festivals since 2006. A portion of the student travel expenses is supported by a grant from Ito-En. 
 
For more information, visit the ACM website: http://www.hawaii.edu/acm/, or contact ACM Assistant Professor Anne Misawa at 956-0752 or amisawa@hawaii.edu.