Q&A WITH JENNIFER AKANA-STURLA, DIRECTOR OF KAMEA

[vc_text_separator title="Q&A" border="no"][blockquote text="I want to be a part of what several of us are trying to do today, which is to capture on film stories, images and characters that are true to Hawaii, that aren't a Hollywood, misunderstood depiction of Hawaii. In particular I'm interested in the representation of Hawaiians, which most people on the mainland don't know exist; they don't know the difference between being Hawaiian and being Japanese American from Hawaii or any other ethnicity you might find IN Hawaii. You know, being Polynesian is totally different from Asian. (It's complicated because so many people are ethnically mixed in Hawaii.) Not having a profile has huge social and political ramifications for Hawaiians" show_quote_icon="yes"]PACIFIC ARTS MOVEMENT: What are the delights and challenges of working with young actors?JENNIFER AKANA-STURLA: The leads in KAMEA were non-actors with no experience or training, and that meant it was difficult to get fresh takes—the scenes could play over-rehearsed very quickly, so I had to keep changing things up, tricking them, throwing new lines at them, etc., to make it fresh.PAC ARTS: What do you draw from your mixed heritage when you're filmmaking?AKANA-STURLA: That and the fact that I've spent so much time both in Hawaii and on the mainland I think give me a perspective that's at times inside and at times outside, which can be helpful in relating a story and in understanding how that story might be read by someone else.PAC ARTS: What is your vision for creating "Hawai'i Cinema?"AKANA-STURLA: Well I want to be a part of what several of us are trying to do today, which is to capture on film stories, images and characters that are true to Hawaii, that aren't a Hollywood, misunderstood depiction of Hawaii. In particular I'm interested in the representation of Hawaiians, which most people on the mainland don't know exist; they don't know the difference between being Hawaiian and being Japanese- American from Hawaii or any other ethnicity you might find IN Hawaii. You know, being Polynesian is totally different from Asian. (It's complicated because so many people are ethnically mixed in Hawaii.) Not having a profile has huge social and political ramifications for Hawaiians (Hawaiians being people with Hawaiian blood running through their veins, the descendants of the Polynesians who came to Hawaii and settled there centuries ago).PAC ARTS: What's next after "Kamea?"AKANA-STURLA: I'm working on a feature script for an independent film that's sort of the other side of the world of KAMEA—a hard-hitting drama set in a Hawaii that, underneath the physical beauty, has real problems and issues we don't see in mainstream films set there, that has people that don't look or talk like what we've seen before.PAC ARTS: Do you surf? If so, do you prefer Hawaii or California surf?AKANA-STURLA: TI'm sorry to say that I'm not yet much of a surfer, which is ironic because I did what people consider a surfing movie and worked with the likes of water god Brian Keaulana for Pete's sake! But I would choose Hawaii—for one, I hate wetsuits and two, the guys in the water in California are scary. I'd rather go out in Waikiki. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley so I spent more time in swimming pools, water skiing on lakes, or snow skiing in the Sierras than I did doing much in the ocean.KAMEA is scheduled to screen on Saturday, 10/1 at 12:00 pm and 7:45 pm, Sunday, 10/2 at 2:15 pm, Monday, 10/3 at 6:15 pm, and Wednesday, 10/5 at 7:00 pm