About Us
As Hawaiʻi’s film school, the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) is at the forefront of cinematic arts in the Pacific. Located in Honolulu at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, SCA is dedicated to academic and creative excellence through its Bachelor of Arts degree designed to encourage innovation and collaboration with emphasis on Hawaiʻi, the Pacific, and Asia. Focused in the heart of a state with a robust film and television industry, SCA encourages professional development, mentorship, and community engagement through a variety of programs including internships, master classes, and industry screenings such as the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival.
SCA nurtures and empowers students to develop their own unique voices as storytellers, exploring creative media forms rooted in personal experience and place-based learning through animation, critical studies, digital cinema, and screenwriting.
Driven by a boundless curiosity, SCA students collaborate and support each other in their creative endeavors and conduct themselves in a respectful and professional manner. SCA students create stories for the screen rooted in diversity and personal identity. These films offer windows into their communities, cultures, beliefs and experiences. Whether on set or in the classroom, SCA students embody the values and ethics of emerging artists and scholars who aspire to educate, challenge, and entertain audiences through their work.
SCA offers a core curriculum in three tracks: Cinematic Arts, Animation, and Digital Cinema.
Faculty / Staff
Click the filter buttons below to find the specialties of each faculty. Click the faculty photo to read their bio and see their work.
Christine Acham
Christine Acham received her Ph.D. in Critical Studies from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. She is currently the Chair of the School of Cinematic…
Thomas Chock
Born and raised in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, Thomas Chock ventured into filmmaking at an early age. His formal film education began at the Academy for Creative…
Daisy Church
Daisy Church is an animator, artist, and educator with over twenty years of experience working in the entertainment industry. Originally from Delaware, she has lived and worked internationally for her…
Lisette Flanary
As an independent filmmaker and a hula dancer, Lisette Marie Flanary creates documentary films that celebrate a modern renaissance of the hula dance and Hawaiian culture. She is the writer,…
Jun seo Hahm
Jun seo Hahm is an animation director and digital artist born in Korea. He started his artistic practice as a filmmaker working in experimental animation, and now has extended his…
Vilsoni Hereniko
Vilsoni Hereniko's research, teaching, and creative work explore issues related to climate change, indigenous storytelling, art and cultural identity, and the politics of representation in all kinds of media. He…
Laura Margulies
Laura Margulies has been creating hand-painted animated films and commissioned work for 30 years. Her work combines motion, color, texture, live action, rhythm, and sound to create award-winning, expressive media.…
Anne Misawa
Anne Misawa has worked internationally in various aspects of film production, with work in both film and TV since 1997. She was largely raised in Hawaiʻi and has studied filmmaking…
Joel Moffett
Joel Moffett was raised on the island of Maui where he graduated high school from Seabury Hall. He holds an MFA in Film Directing from the American Film Institute and…
Marc Moody
Marc moved to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Arkansas, where his screenplay A Song for the Night climbed through the story department at ABC Motion Pictures. ABC…
Jim Parente
James Parente received his MFA in Computer Art from Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. He has worked as a visual effects artist on both live action and…
Scott Schimmel
Scott received his MFA in Documentary Film from Wake Forest University in 2017 and joined the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa that same year. He spent his first four years…
Brett Service
Brett Service is an academic advisor and lecturer in the School of Cinematic Arts at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He received his MA from the University of Southern California's…
Tiffany Taira
Tiffany Taira was born and raised in Lahaina, Maui. She works as a Director of Photography and Editor in all forms of production from narrative, documentary, and music videos. She…
George Wang
George Wang is Professor of Cinematic Arts at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award hosted by The University of Hong Kong (2014-2015), George…
Fun SCA Facts
Academic Tracks
SCA offers a core curriculum in three tracks: Cinematic Arts, Animation and Digital Cinema.
Student Info
Visit our Student Info page to learn more about Tracks, Portfolio Requirements, Equipment Requirements, etc.
Contact Us
Click the map below to navigate to Crawford Hall
Address
Crawford 210
2550 Campus Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone
(808) 956-5660
Fax
(808) 956-6662
Email
cinema@hawaii.edu
