LOS ANGELES — "Kāhala Sunset," a crime drama shot on location in O‘ahu with an all-local cast and crew, premiered at the Los Angeles Tribune International Film Festival on August 15. Screenwriter/producer Colby Haines, who also stars as HPD detective Sandra Whitsome, flew out from Honolulu to attend "Kāhala Sunset’s" opening, as did co-producer Jacob Kamhis. The screening and post-film Q&A with the filmmakers took place at the Culver Theater, a multiplex redolent with Hollywood history located beside the Culver Hotel where the diminutive actors who played the Munchkins in 1939’s "The Wizard of Oz" stayed, walking distance from where MGM (now Sony Pictures Studios) stood.
In "Kāhala Sunset," Haines’ Sandra Whitsome is the only female promoted from HPD’s sex crimes division to the homicide department where, as an older, single woman, she has to prove herself. A sex abuse survivor and workaholic, the by-the-book crimefighter breaks police protocols as Whitsome resolves to crack a cold case – the 30-year-old death of beautiful Hawaiian acting student Kanani Kekai (Nicole Rombaoa, who previously acted in "NCIS: Hawai‘i" and was a stunt performer in Jason Momoa’s "Chief of War"), glimpsed in black and white flashbacks – using new DNA technology and clues the resourceful detective discovers.
As Whitsome strives to solve what really happened to Kekai, this psychological thriller takes more twists and turns than the road to Hāna.
Cyndi Mayo-Akeo portrays Diana, the ex-wife of Brandon Carth (Todd Sells), who has convinced Diana they can reconcile their marriage. For her role as a wahine scorned, Mayo-Akeo scored the filmfest’s Best Supporting Actress award. The part-Hawaiian thesp’s many screen credits include Momoa’s 2026 comedy "The Wrecking Crew," "Magnum P.I." and Clint Eastwood’s 2010 "Hereafter." Sells’ complex "Kāhala Sunset" character Brandon is a former acting school classmate of Kekai who went on to become a successful actor. In real life, Sells has been a trophy-winning surfer and North Shore lifeguard who performed stunts in 2021’s "Godzilla vs. Kong," 2023’s "Murder Mystery 2," etc.
In an interview about "Kāhala Sunset," Haines — who has been acting since 1970s gigs on "The Partridge Family" and "The Waltons" TV series — told Aloha State Daily, “I wrote this as part of my master’s degree in communications, which includes journalism, public relations, advertising and screenwriting,” which the writer/actress/producer earned at Cal State Fullerton. “This is my first screenplay and the first feature I produced.”
Haines stressed, “'Kāhala Sunset' is made with all-Hawai‘i cast and crew, entirely on O‘ahu, at 17 locations. I didn’t import anybody.” The film’s local imprimatur shows throughout the 90-minute-feature, imbuing it with a distinctive Hawai‘i ambiance. Location shooting, with lovely aerial shots of Makapu‘u, Koko Head, Diamond Head, etc., evoke a strong sense of place. Local actors get to be themselves, pidgin and all. And in a scene lensed in Roy’s Restaurant at Ko Olina Resort,musician Johnny Valentine (Bruno Mars’ uncle) serenades Colby’s character.
"Kāhala Sunset" is the feature film directorial debut of Kurt Jones, who’d previously worked in the Islands as the director of photography for numerous episodes of the "Hawai‘i Five-O" and "Magnum P.I." reboots, plus the "NCIS: Hawai‘i" TV series. Jones was nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers’ award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for a 2017 episode of "The Originals," a CW vampire series.
In an interview at the movie’s LATIFF premiere, Jones said, “I made the show DGA [Directors Guild of America] worthy. I brought in assistant directors and all the crew on the Island that had worked with me for 10 years. We had all working professionals on the movie the whole time,” which Jones referred to as a fast-paced 14-day shoot. “That was only going to happen if the people I had were good at their jobs,” Jones emphasized.
The crew included Scott Mason, who’d worked with Jones on "Five-O" and was "Kāhala Sunset’s" cinematographer. “It was easy to have him as my DP, because he knows exactly what I like and I can explain something very simply and walk away and know he’ll deliver. A lot of the camera department had all worked for me. It was good to have a crew I could talk shorthand to,” related Jones, who after years of living in O‘ahu now works in L.A. as director of photography for the "NCIS: Origins" TV series. Both Jones and Haines were originally from near Boston; Haines is an ‘Ewa Beach resident who has lived in O‘ahu for 17 years.
The star/screenwriter/producer stated, “My goal was to cast it as a SAG-AFTRA Ultra Low Budget production,” which, according to the actors’ union’s website, is a “Project Agreement [that] applies to films shooting entirely in the United States with a maximum budget of $300,000.” Haines went on to say, “We had 28 actors from Maui, O‘ahu, Big Island, under the SAG agreement… I was very intent on making sure that the world knew that Hawai‘i has qualified, very talented actors, as well as crew. And not for [studios] to always have to fly in people,” to work in front of and behind the camera while filming on location in the Islands.
“Part of the goal was to showcase Hawai‘i beyond Hawai‘i, so that they know about the talented cast and crew,” added Haines, who is now seeking distribution for "Kāhala Sunset."
With its cross-cultural movie mission that, as the filmfest’s founder Dr. Moe Rock puts it, “brings together an extraordinary range of filmmakers and stories from around the world,” the Los Angeles Tribune International Film Festival provided the Aloha State with a cinematic platform in the global motion picture capital.
For more info: https://latribunefilmfestival.com/.
Ed Rampell and Luis Reyes are co-authors of the new book On Location in Hawai‘i.
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