FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

LAST HAWAIIAN SUGAR (2019)

Inspired by true events.

12-year-old Nua makes peace with the mixed emotions she has about the land she lives on when she learns the sugar plantation she calls home will be closed forever.

Last Hawaiian Sugar is a short drama set on the final remaining sugar cane plantation camp on Maui. Nua, twelve years-old, Samoan, identifies with the world through her intensely spiritual connection she has with the land. She is the product of this immigrant camp that “Big Sugar” brought to work these fields. On the very day Nua learns the mill is closing, she struggles to tell her mother about the abuse she suffers. When her mother isn’t able to hear her cries for help, Nua resolves to sabotage the final sugarcane burn as she prepares to say goodbye to the only home she has ever known.

Nua’s story is a metaphor for what has happened to the land due to industrialized farming, offers a rare look into the final days of commercial sugar production in Hawai‘i, and the Islands’ complicated relationship with the sugar industry. Last Hawaiian Sugar is a contemporary story reckoning a deep Hawaiian history; the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. produced its final harvest in 2016. This mill, on Maui, was permanently closed soon after and the last employees of HC&S were laid off.

Sponsors

FILMMAKERS

Déjà Cresencia Bernhardt is a filmmaker raised on Maui, Hawai’i who now resides between her family home in Bali, Indonesia and Austin, Texas. Déjà draws upon her diverse heritage, finding inspiration to tell both narrative and documentary stories — often informing one another. Her films have screened in festivals worldwide and won numerous awards, but more importantly, catapulted humanitarian work into the forefront of the global public eye. Déjà's pre-thesis graduate film, The Midwife's Husband (2012), was nominated for a Student Academy Award. Déjà's documentary work has been globally influential in promoting humanitarian efforts in Africa, Indonesia, Haiti and beyond, including the award winning documentaries, Guerrilla Midwife (2010), and Tsunami Notebook (2009). Her feature documentary Guerrilla Midwife shines a light on the work of her mother, Ibu Robin Lim, and propelled Lim to win CNN Hero of the Year and use that notoriety to bring efforts to underserved and underrepresented communities worldwide.

Déjà loves to create films that open hearts and connect people to their global and indigenous and global communities. She received her BFA from Maharishi International University and an MFA in Film Production at Radio-Televison-Film at University of Texas, Austin. Déjà recently completed production of Last Hawaiian Sugar, a prelude for her feature Half Angels — named one of top ten best unproduced screenplays by CAPE (Coalition for Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) & The Black List (2019). Last Hawaiian Sugar is a PIC (Pacific Islanders in Communication) recipient and the ‘Ohina Lab Greenlight Winner 2019.

Gerard Elmore is a multiple Emmy-winning writer, editor, producer, and director who works with the NMG Network as a Lead Producer. At NMG Network, he helps to build a new cloud-based broadcasting company producing and aggregating original content including shows, films, music, and events. He has over 15 years of experience creating nationally distributed independent films, and working as a commercial director on award-winning spots for various clients.

During the pandemic, Gerard has been working with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) on their new television program The HI-Way. Season 2 just premiered on September 22 and will continue to air on K5, KHNL, and KGMB. Aside from The HI-Way, Gerard has also been working on two films, Ka Huaka‘i and Red House.

Jason Cutinella is the founder and CEO of the award-winning content company NMG Network (formerly Nella Media Group). With more than 15 years of experience in media, marketing, and brand development. His vision to transform the way that content is created and distributed in Hawai‘i and beyond, connects travelers and sophisticated urbanites to authentic experiences.

Having graduated from the University of Southern California’s Graduate Cinema & TV Production Program, Anne Misawa has worked internationally in various aspects of film production on numerous award-winning work. Her primary work is as a Producer, Director and as a Cinematographer. Her work as Director of Photography include-- STORY GAME, (directed by Jason Lau, Hawaiʻi Int. Film Festival 2020), MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW, (directed by Shonali Bose, Sundance Institute’s Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award 2012, NETPAC award at Toronto Int. Film Festival, Busan Int. Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, 2014), JACK & DIANE, (directed by Bradley-Rust Gray, Tribeca Film Festival, Locarno Int. Film Festival, 2012), TREELESS MOUNTAIN, (directed by So Yong Kim, NETPAC award at Busan Int. Film Festival, Toronto Int. Film Festival, Berlin Int. Film Festival, and New Directors/ New Films, 2008), SALT, (directed by Bradley-Rust Gray, Caligari Award for Innovative Filmmaking at Berlin Int. Film Festival, 2003). Her work as the Director of Photography in TREELESS MOUNTAIN was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography in 2010. Anne also teaches cinematic production at the Academy for Creative Media, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Kyle Kosaki is a multi-faceted creative with a strong foundation in documentary storytelling. He grew his passion for portraying the intricate frameworks of diverse subjects, ranging from the arts and culture to social advocacy. He finds importance in understanding different perspectives and drawing inspiration from various avenues to continuously refine his craft. Through his Emmy-award winning documentary film, In Prose and Palms (2019), Kyle’s cinematography paints the intimate conservatory of late poet William S. Merwin and how nature influences art. Kyle’s creative style is an amalgamation of all his experiences and his willingness to explore different areas of art, even featuring in a supporting role in a Sundance Film, I was a Simple Man (2021). His most recent work on The Last Hawaiian Sugar exemplifies Kyle’s open ended way of narrative storytelling following the journey of loss and empowerment. He currently sits as a creative director at a media start-up focusing in on the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Akemi Bischoff is a casting director based on O‘ahu. She specializes in street casting where she finds new and unique faces from this diverse island. Akemi works on many local and national ad campaigns, as well as independent films. Akemi was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She first arrived in Southern California as an exchange student at the age of fifteen. She has worked and lived in Los Angeles as an actor in 80’s and 90’s appearing in commercials, TV shows, and featured films. Akemi’s passion to bring in diverse faces to the big screen comes from her experiences of those days.

Brian Satterwhite is a professional film composer based in Austin, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Music with dual majors in Film Scoring and Composition from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Brian’s music has been featured in over one hundred and seventy short and feature films including The Next Kill (2018), The Lone Ranger (2013), Sushi: The Global Catch (2012), Switch (2012), Man On A Mission (2012), Artois The Goat (2009), Quarter to Noon (2008), The Children’s War (2008), Cowboy Smoke (2008), Mr. Hell (2006), and the award-winning IMAX™ film Ride Around The World (2006). Brian’s many accolades include twelve gold medals and four silver medals from the Park City Film Music Festival. Brian has composed a handful of scores for silent films performed by the Dallas Chamber Symphony including Metropolis (1927), The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari (1920), the Buster Keaton short film The Scarecrow (1920), and the Harold Lloyd feature A Sailor-Made Man (1921) which was a finalist for a Jerry Goldsmith Award in 2013. Brian also served as an orchestrator under composer Douglas Pipes for the Universal Studios motion picture Krampus (2015) directed by Michael Dougherty. In addition to composing, Brian is a highly regarded film music journalist who writes for several popular web sites and pens soundtrack album linter notes for several major labels. He is currently writing a book on The Music of Friday the 13th scheduled for publication in late 2020.

A powerful short film inspired by true events, Last Hawaiian Sugar is an emotionally charged story that follows the story of an abused 11-year-old Samoan girl, set against the waning of the “Big Sugar” industry in Hawai‘i. The script for Last Hawaiian Sugar won the ‘Ohina Greenlight Award at the ‘Ohina Labs development workshop in 2019, granting Bernhardt production and financial support towards the completion of her film.

For more information about ‘Ohina, visit ohina.org.

This film was made possible with funding from Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC), ‘Ohina Labs, the NMG Network, and has been truly nourished by those who are empowering Indigenous filmmaking in Hawai‘i.

We are honored to have a 100% AANHPI cast. Our hope is that the authenticity and specificity of this film will empower the global Asian and Pacific Islander population, as Nua’s character does herself in order to get what she needs. One of the biggest erosions of the Pacific Islander experience is the loss of cultural identity due to migration, slavery, and colonization; there may have never been a more important time than now to represent authentic AANHPI experiences amid widespread Asian hate crimes.

The global message of Last Hawaiian Sugar is resiliency and courage in the face of challenging circumstances. Collectively, we are at a time in history where every one of us on our planet is faced with adversity of varying degrees. The issues we address in Last Hawaiian Sugar are intended to start conversations that bring awareness to the complicated realities which affect underserved and under-protected populations, native peoples and immigrants and cyclical abuse. We know that when humankind lacks the collective respect for a people, the entirety of society suffers, and that these seeds of humanity are planted at the individual level from a young age.

Our hope is that each of us who watches this film can see themselves in Nua — a child searching for her identity, faced with losing her home, lacking protection and yet still courageous and empathetic towards others, toward the earth and its smallest creatures.

—Déjà Cresencia Bernhardt
Writer & Director

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