2024 filmmakers lab
call for ENTRIES
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM JULY 30 to AUGUST 26, 2024.
WINNERS NOTIFIED BY OCTOBER 7, 2024.
‘OHINA FILMMAKERS LAB: NOVEMBER 16 to 23, 2024.
HOW IT WORKS
Fellows accepted into the lab will participate in a workshop intensive. At the end of the lab, we will reward one (1) ‘Ohina Greenlight Award. ‘Ohina Films will fund and produce the ‘Ohina Greenlight Award winning script, which must be shot here in Hawai‘i.
Past ‘Ohina mentors have included Joe Robert Cole (co-screenwriter of Black Panther), Eric Pearson (co-screenwriter of Thor: Ragnarok), and Dana Ledoux-Miller (co-screenwriter, Narcos, Newsroom). Our 2019 Greenlight Award winner, Last Hawaiian Sugar by Déjà Crescencia Bernhardt, won Best Director at the Made in Hawai‘i Film Festival. Our 2017 Greenlight Award winner, Kālewa by Mitchel Viernes, won Best Sci-Fi Short at the 2018 New Renaissance Film Festival in Amsterdam. Our 2017 Judge’s Award winner, Mauka to Makai by Alika Maikau, won Best Made in Hawai‘i Short Film at the 2018 Hawai‘i International Film Festival.
The Filmmakers Lab is looking for hard working screenwriters, directors, and filmmakers with open minds and a passion for learning in a supportive, constructive, critical, and cooperative environment. Applicants must either be a resident or former resident of Hawai‘i.
HOW IT'S JUDGED
Scripts will be reviewed by the ‘Ohina Executive team and notable film industry luminaries, who are judging on the strengths of story, characters, voice, craft, and producibility on a limited budget.
The top 15 scripts will be narrowed down to UP TO 10 TOTAL WINNING FELLOWS.
HOW TO APPLY
ONE short film screenplay or web series pilot. 15 PAGES MAXIMUM.
Resume or CV
1-page letter explaining why you’d like to be considered as an ‘Ohina Fellow.
ʻOhina debuted in 1999 to support local independent filmmakers and to give them an opportunity to exhibit their films to the community through a short film showcase. Named with the Hawaiian term for "gathering" or "collecting," ʻOhina provides an annual exclusive venue for a collection of works by Hawaiʻi filmmakers to be gathered and presented to the community. Although entries can come from around the world, there is only one requirement: a creative relationship to the Hawaiian Islands.
Over two decades later, ʻOhina has grown into a three (3) tiered media pipeline responsible for helping local filmmakers and storytellers bring cinematic visions to the big screen.
The ‘Ohina Showcase is an annual event that brings local short films to theaters across the Hawaiian Islands. In 2019, ‘Ohina reached O‘ahu, Maui, Lāna‘i, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i Island. We aspire to soon reach every island in the archepelago within a single month for maximum exposure of local films to the greater Hawai‘i community.
The ‘Ohina Filmmakers Lab is a two-day filmmaker educational intensive that provides Hollywood screenwriters, producers, and directors mentorship and advice in a variety of key filmmaking fields, including script development, honing pitches, production support, project guidance, and more.
‘Ohina Films is a local collective of producers, directors, crew members, and creative talent on-island to help short film concepts that have been created and written during the ‘Ohina Filmmakers Lab intensive. ‘Ohina Films is responsible for bringing to fruition the ‘Ohina Greenlight Award-winning film and moving it through the short film festival circuit.
