“Paper Bag Plan,” an independent film from Executive Producer Keʻalohi Lee Lucero, who grew up on O’ahu, just started streaming internationally April 29 on iTunes, Prime Video, YouTube and Google Play.
The 108-minute drama shares the story of Oscar, a father diagnosed with cancer, who seeks independence for his wheelchair-bound son, Billy. It recently was on the big screen at Consolidated Theatres at Ward in September of 2025.
The film’s executive producer grew up in Kaʻaʻawa and graduated from Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa before moving to the Mainland and working her way up to co-executive producer of “America’s Got Talent.”
“We are streaming around the world,” she told Aloha State Daily. “We're everywhere where iTunes is [and] Amazon, YouTube and Google Play, for now.”
The film will also be appearing on Xumo in the near future, after a deal was finalized today, she told ASD.
“Paper Bag Plan” was written and directed by her husband, Anthony Lucero, who was inspired to share this story after watching his mother and sister raise disabled children.
Viewers are already writing in to share their reaction to the film.
“People just message us on our site, and we've got some really great emails coming in from parents and families — and people around the world,” she said. “They’re saying thank you for making this movie. We just had someone write last night saying ‘You made a movie about my family'.“
The film has already gotten some attention on social media. That includes a repost on Instagram from Jennifer Aniston, who has 44.5 million followers.
“It just feels good that finally, this little movie that we made — a few years ago — now everyone can see it,” Lucero said.
It has won awards at 17 film festivals, Lucero added. Having it screen in front of live audiences in different cities helped Lucero and her husband get a better idea of how people would respond to scenes. In fact, the duo made some edits based on audience reactions before creating the final version, which is now streaming on international platforms.
Analytics for how many people have watched so far weren’t immediately available, she said.
“We kept our pricing for the rental low,” she said. “And we did that because we wanted the families that we care about that — that we made this movie for — we wanted them to be able to watch it and not be like, ‘Oh my gosh, it's so expensive.’ So that's why we did that.”
For platforms like Amazon, the split is 50-50 between the streaming platform and the filmmakers, she said. The filmmakers then pay fees to the distributors and actors, she said.
Watch “Paper Bag Plan” on iTunes, Prime Video ($2.99 to rent, $4.99 to buy), YouTube (starts at $2.99 for standard definition) and Google Play ($2.99 to rent, $4.99 to buy).
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
