Over the past fifteen years Maui’s independent production scene has been on the rise; a trend we are also seeing statewide. Strivers getting their start, established pros telling their own stories, and opportunities for local residents to cut their teeth in the industry!

In 2010 writer/director Brian Kohne and producer Stefan Schaefer committed to exclusively casting Hawaii residents for Maui’s first-ever independent feature film, Get A Job, which stars the late Willie K, Eric Gilliom, and other well-known Hawaii entertainers. In fact, only five members of the crew were not from the islands. More remarkable is the fact that only a handful of the 300+ individuals involved in the production had ever been on a movie set before.

Since that leap of faith, many other feature documentaries and narrative independent works have been produced by residents, including shorts and made-for-TV productions. Director Leah Warshawski and cinematographer Todd Soliday are still out in the world screening their award-winning doc Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool. Local actor/producer Branscombe Richmond has completed a number of modestly budgeted family films, including Aloha With Love. Schaefer and Kohne released Kuleana to theaters; the feature film is also available on streaming platforms. Other indie works from Schaefer include Aloha Surf Hotel, Even Though The Whole World is Burning, about the late poet and Maui resident W.S. Merwin, and another comedy on the way: Alex Farnham’s One Million Dolla (directed by Schaefer).

The most recent feature to shoot on the westside, My Partner, is already available on streaming. Six episodes of an independent TV comedy, Moku Moku is both streaming and available as in-flight entertainment on Hawaiian Airlines. This year, we can expect even more Maui-based motion pictures to find their way to the festival circuit and eventual distribution, including the highly anticipated documentary driven by local residents about the tragic events of August 2023: Lāhainā Rising chronicles one of the most devastating wildfires in U.S. history and the ongoing struggles of its displaced residents.

In the coming years the Maui Film Office seeks to strengthen resources for independents while also building out the infrastructure to support larger budgeted works by visiting production companies. Our union and non-union crews are dynamic, our locations first rate, and access to gear in the community and from Oahu has become routine. Over time our workforce will grow and Maui seeks to become the best place in all of the Pacific for independent production. 

Much of our focus places an emphasis on education and opportunity for our Maui County residents.  Stay tuned! We are just getting started, and there is a seat at the table for all Hawaii residents in this unique and growing industry.