“HOW PROFESSIONALS MAKE MOVIES”
FILM PRODUCTION SEMINAR
Saturday, April 25, 8 a.m.  Parker School Theatre, Waimea.

Interested in how big screen feature films and network television shows are produced?  You will not want to miss this full day seminar: “How Professionals Make Movies,” sponsored by the Big Island Film Office and the Parker School Fine Arts Department to be held at the Parker School Theatre in Waimea on Saturday, April 25 starting at 8 am.

Feature film director and Big Island resident David Cunningham will deliver the keynote address. Cunningham has many impressive directing credits in feature film and television, including the features “Beyond Paradise” and “To End All Wars,” and two mini series for ABC, “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Path to 9/11.”

Cunningham’s talk will be followed by sessions on financing, producing, development, production management, location producing, and physical aspects of production. Experts leading these sessions include the Waimea husband and wife team Jane Sibbett and Karl Fink. Sibbett, an actress and producer, and Fink, a producer, will talk about their experiences in Hollywood and their many network television and feature credits. Dana Hankins, one of the state’s premier location producers, will fly in from Honolulu to discuss location challenges and production management for the Miramax independent feature, The Tempest, which shot recently on The Big Island and stars Helen Mirren. 

Small group breakout sessions in the afternoon will focus on directing and producing with Karl Fink and Kohala’s Keith Nealy of Keith Nealy Productions, and acting with Jane Sibbett and Maren Oom, Director of Fine Arts at the Parker School.  Below the Line production sessions will be conducted by Dana Hankins and Tom Penny, an experienced technical craftsman from The Big Island and a member of IATSE Local 665.  A screenwriting session will feature WGA
member Stephen Peters from Waimea and award winning Bob Duerr of Kappa Productions from Hilo, who will take pitches on “shows from Hawaii Island that can go.”  Teaching Film in the Classroom will be co-led by Ari Bernstein, Director of Digital Media at HPA and Gloria Baraquio, a writer, producer, and teacher at charter school HAAS in Pahoa.   

A panel discussion and short film festival will conclude the day. This program is FREE to secondary and college level students who are serious about film and digital media, and $10 for adults. Big Island Film Commissioner John Mason says, “This program is a must for those seeking to take their production skills and knowledge to a higher level, and to students serious about making career choices in production.” A light continental breakfast and lunch are included with registration, which begins at 8am.  Space is limited—don’t delay to RSVP at 327-3663. This program is sponsored by The Big Island Film Office and Parker School’s Fine Arts Department.