PIFF Presents: Oceania Rising marks my debut as a TV director and project lead, a five-part television series celebrating the rise of independent filmmaking across the Pacific Islands. As a Native Hawaiian artist and as a filmmaker shaped both by Oceania and the creative intensity of New York City, I’ve always believed that Pacific Islander stories hold a profound and necessary place in the world. Now more than ever, these stories deserve a larger stage.

I joined the Pacific Island Film Festival to help bridge Hawaiʻi and the Pacific to NYC, and this series became the project I had always hoped to create. In partnership with Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) and Hawaiʻi News Now, I curated and screened a selection of independent short films, pairing each with interviews I directed or coordinated myself. These conversations explore how these filmmakers began, the resources they relied on, the challenges they overcame, and what it means to create as Pacific Islanders, people who have always expressed identity through story, dance, and music.

I led and managed a global production crew across New York City, Hawaiʻi, Aotearoa, Samoa, and Rapa Nui. Sponsors and commercial spots were carefully chosen to highlight businesses and programs that care about artistic growth in the Pacific Islands.

In an era shaped by rapid technological change, I wanted to show viewers back home that making a film is no longer far-fetched. There are countless resources, grants, and communities ready to support Pacific creatives, and the impact of their work can reach New York City and far beyond. The message at the heart of Oceania Rising is simple: create your film, send it to PIFF, and your story will travel. The world needs the oceanic perspective, its values, its worldview, and its truth.

This is why I made Oceania Rising.