Student Eve Davidson, a senior at Mid-Pacific Institute, wrote and directed “Ke Kino Lua,” a short film about culture and choice. This month, it will be featured in four film festivals, including Women of Wonders Film Fest Hawai’i, which will hold screenings in the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art on Sunday, March 8.
“My film is about a man deciding which shirt he should wear for his first day of work,” Davidson told Aloha State Daily. “One shirt represents Hawai’i and the other represents Mainland and office clothing. I want people to know that they can represent their culture while still being in a different culture, because I was inspired by Hawai’i and seeing all the different kinds of ethnicities and how they express themselves through a simple keychain or a piece of clothing.”
Davidson is part of Mid-Pacific School of the Arts Film Program, led by filmmaker Jana Park. This month Davidson's film — as well as those of several of her current and former classmates — will also be featured at film festivals held in Oregon, New Zealand and Australia.
“Ke Kino Lua” involved four months of prep work, which included writing the script, one day of shooting, and then another three months of editing, Davidson said.
“I think it's very exciting, and it really gets people to think about their culture, as well as Hawai’i's culture,” Davidson said.
In 2024, the Hawai‘i International Film Festival held its inaugural ‘Ōpio Fest, a three-day event that put a spotlight on student films from young filmmakers across Hawaiʻi. It featured the work of several students from the Mid-Pacific School of the Arts Film Program, including Cameryn Koike ’25, who won the Best ‘Ōpio Student Film Award, and Kailey Holbrook ’25, who won the Best Screenplay Award.
“My goal with this program is kind of two parts,” Park said. “One is, we do have a handful of students who want to be professional filmmakers, like Eve, she wants to be an editor, so she's done a lot of editing. ... That’s my goal as a teacher and as a mentor for them is to help them get where they want to be, whether it's to film school or to get on an actual set.”
Davidson will be attending film school at Loyola Marymount University next year, Park added.
“But then, some of the students don't necessarily want to be professional filmmakers,” she said. “For them, it's more about teaching them everything that goes into production and having an appreciation for the amount of work that it takes to produce even one minute of really good content.”
Park brings experience as an actress and producer to the program. She was an actress in several shorts and in the television series "Hawai’i Five-0." As a filmmaker, Park has also worked on independent films and projects for the Discovery Channel, Disney, Comedy Central, the Hawai’i Council for the Humanities and the Merrie Monarch Festival, according to her biography on Hawai’i International Film Festival’s website.
Park studied political science and women’s studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and earned an associate of arts degree in American Sign Language/Interpreting from Los Angeles Pierce College.
Growing up, she had made films for fun.
“I didn't think it was going to be a career until I got a little older,” Park said. “When I got that degree in political science and women's studies, my original goal was to go to law school. And I at the last minute decided, ‘You know what? I think I want to be a filmmaker. I think I'd rather be James Cameron than Barack Obama, if I had to choose one.’ I wanted to change the world politically by making art and making films representing voices that were underrepresented.”
That is exactly what many of her students are doing, too. Tickets for the Women of Wonders Film Fest Hawai’i start at $5. Get tickets. Here is a list of the festivals where Davidson's film — and those of several classmates — will be screening this month:
March 8: Women of Wonders Film Fest (Honolulu, Hawai’i)
"Ke Kino Lua," written and directed by Eve Davidson ’26
“On My Honour,” written and directed by Kailey Holbrook ’25 and Cameryn Koike ’25
“Not Alone,” written and directed by Cameryn Koike ’25
March 9-15:Third Culture Film Festival (New Zealand)
“Ke Kino Lua,” written and directed by Eve Davidson ’26
“Two Worlds Apart,” written and directed by Marley Davidson ’25
March 14: Pacific Ocean Short Film Festival (Australia)
“Ke Kino Lua,” written and directed by Eve Davidson ’26
"Leihana," written and directed by Layla Yamamoto ’26 and Michi Yorkston ’25
March 12-15: DisORIENT Asian American Film Festival of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon)
“Ke Kino Lua,” written and directed by Eve Davidson ’26
“Leihana,” written and directed by Layla Yamamoto ’26 and Michi Yorkston ’25
“Not Alone,” written and directed by Cameryn Koike ’25
“Two Worlds Apart,” written and directed by Marley Davidson ’25
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
