Shirley Thompson

A filmmaker turns detective to uncover the forgotten story of Li Ling-Ai, the un-credited female producer of KUKAN, an Academy Award-winning color documentary about World War II China that has been lost for decades.

$avy investigates the historical, cultural, and societal norms around women and money.

What if you are made to feel ashamed when you speak your "mother tongue" or ridiculed because of your accent? "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i" addresses these questions through its lively examination of Pidgin - the language spoken by over half of Hawai'i's people.

An intimate portrait of teenagers trying to understand their world and their possibilities. The film weaves together video shot by teens and by the filmmaker, as they work together to make a film and create expressive outlets for youth in the community. They organize dances and community events and paint a mural. At the same time, with humor and pathos, these young people raise issues around violence, feeling misunderstood by adults and lacking respect in their community. Set in the small town of Sitka, Alaska, home to a large Alaska Native population, the video chronicles their creativity, concerns and dreams.

Depicts what happens when students K-8 discuss LGBT-related topics in age-appropriate ways. Shot in six public and private schools (in San Francisco and New York City, as well as Madison, Wisconsin, and Cambridge, Massachusetts), It’s Elementary models excellent teaching about family diversity, name-calling, stereotypes, community building, and more.

Teshya Alo is 16 years old and 125 pounds. But on the judo and wrestling mats, she throws women twice her age and pounds heavier. And she beats boys. Now, she has her sights set on taking gold at both the judo and wrestling world championships — and eventually the Olympics. But it won’t be easy. She is younger and less experienced than her opponents — and lives in Hawaii. The cost of traveling to mainland and international tournaments drains her family’s resources. Winning Girl follows the four-year journey of this teenaged judo and wrestling phenomenon and her family, and in so doing tells the dynamic story of an elite athlete on her ascent, a girl facing the challenges of growing up and an entire family dedicated to a single dream.

Dear Aloha is a short documentary profiling Diasporic Hawaiians living thousands of miles away from home. Dear Aloha shows how aloha sustains our people amidst distance, loss, and longing.

This half-hour educational documentary is shot in an intimate, backyard style. Breadfruit & Open Spaces gives a rare look into the personal stories and open living spaces of the Chuukese and Yapese people who live, work, and attend school on Guam, the land where they now grow and prepare their traditional foods. It explores their journey and challenge to hold their ground and find a voice on a new island, while also maintaining their ties to their families on their home islands in the Federated States of Micronesia.

ISLAND COWGIRLS weaves parallel portraits of two wāhine paniolo (Hawaiian cowgirls), DeeDee Bertlemann and Lani Cran Petrie living on opposite sides of the Hawaiʻi island, who both face uncertain futures as ranchers working on state managed lands with expiring leases. With the coronavirus pandemic, erupting volcanoes, and encroaching real estate developers impacting their lives, they seek to preserve their paniolo way of life while creating an environmentally and economically sustainable future for their children.

Stripped of their constitutional rights, their homes, businesses, and dignity, 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into dusty desolate camps, surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire. Ironically it was the All-American pastime of baseball that saved their sanity.

Debbi Barrett is a humble Hawaiian floral designer for some of the most prestigious venues and storied families of Honolulu, but her craft is so much more than just arranging flowers. Beneath her floral designs is wisdom passed down about caring for nature, hula and medicinal cultivation.

Three short films about three Micronesian women as they navigate the challenges of higher education while supporting their families.