Jason Cutinella is Founder and CEO of Nella Media Group (NMG Network). After launching his career at McCann Erickson Worldwide as a media buyer for the Sony Pictures account and then transitioning to working on the client side of Sony Music International in New York City, Jason relocated to Hawai‘i in 2004 to pursue a master’s degree in Communications from Hawai‘i Pacific University. Jason founded NMG in 2009 in order to connect travelers and sophisticated urbanites to authentic experiences. To expand from print into digital content and reach new markets, Jason spearheaded the acquisition of Visitor Video Inc., Hawai‘i’s leading…

Elizabeth M. Daley was appointed dean of the USC School of Cinema-Television in 1991. She is the inaugural holder of the Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Dean’s Chair. Under her leadership, the school has added three new divisions in Animation and Digital Arts, Interactive Media and Games, and Media Arts + Practice; built the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts; established 32 endowed positions; and formed successful partnerships with a variety of entertainment and technology companies. In 2006, Daley presided over the school’s official renaming as the School of Cinematic Arts by George Lucas and broke ground for a new complex…

Aaron and Jordan Kandell are identical twin brother screenwriters and producers, who were born, raised, and still reside in Hawai‘i. They are best known for their work on Disney Animation’s Moana and the 2018 feature Adrift. Operating under their banner Twin Ink, the Kbros have a number of notable upcoming projects including Supernormal, a superhero comedy for Netflix starring Josh Gad, Luke Evans, and Daisy Ridley; Sidekicks, a reimagining of classic fairy tales through the eyes of the heroes’ underappreciated helpers for Paramount; and The Muppet Man, a biopic of Jim Henson for Disney. In TV, the twins sold Swift-Harding,…

Just as her family served Hawaiʻi through their talents, Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau wanted to elevate her community through film. The University Hawaiʻi at Mānoa SCA (formerly ACM) alum was selected as a Sundance Native Lab fellow for her Chapman University MFA thesis film, The Moon and the Night. The award-winning film went on to screen in over 30 festivals, including being short-listed for the 2018 Student BAFTA awards and licensed by the Criterion Channel. Since graduation, Erin has signed with the United Talent Agency and continued her growth through fellowships with the Sundance Indigenous Institute, Film Independent’s Project…

Konrad Ng is the executive director of the award-winning Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design in Honolulu, Hawaii - the only museum dedicated exclusively to Islamic art in the United States. Before joining Shangri La, Konrad was the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American Center in Washington, DC where he produced exhibitions, public programs, and digital initiatives about Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture. He was also a professor of critical studies in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Academy for Creative Media and the first curator of film and video at the Honolulu…

The Nichols have been long-time supporters of the arts in Hawaii. Their involvement with the film community in Hawai’i started with bringing the Sundance Institute: Sundance ShortsLab team to Honolulu in conjunction with the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA). This was followed by support of Native Hawaiian Sundance Fellows in a Sundance Native Labs workshop held at HoMA the following year. A direct outcome was engagement in projects by Native Hawaiian filmmakers through establishment of the NICHOLS Family Film Fund, most notably WAIKIKI the Film, an award-winning feature film written and directed by Chris Kahunahana; KA PIKO, a short narrative…

Since 2007, Georja Skinner has helmed the State of Hawaii’s Creative Industries Division (CID) in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), where she has led the state's efforts to define, build and strengthen Hawaii's creative economy, while maintaining Hawaii’s reputation as a prime television and film production destination in the Pacific. Creative Industries, DBEDT oversees operations of the State of Hawaii Film Office, providing liaison and permitting services for television and film production, and the Creative and Emerging Industries Office (aka Arts and Culture Branch), focused on business and workforce development, infrastructure, the State’s Film and Creative…

Larry Teng is a veteran Television Director with over 100 episodes of experience in network, cable, and streaming. He has worked on tentpole shows such as Hawaii Five-0 and Criminal Minds and cult favorites such as The Walking Dead, Supergirl, and Doom Patrol. He recently directed the pilot for NCIS: Hawai‘i for CBS, as well as serving as an Executive Producer in its inaugural season. Larry also directed the Nancy Drew pilot for the CW and is also an Executive Producer on the show. Larry got his directorial break on the hit NBC/CBS show Medium and the episode he helmed…

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 is an award-winning filmmaker and playwright as well as a screenwriter and director. As an academic, his research integrates the scholarly and the creative. Hereniko’s first narrative feature film Pear ta Ma ‘On Maf: The Land Has Eyes had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and European premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Selected for competition at the Shanghai International Film Festival and screened at more than…