Waimea Ocean Film Festival - The Sakada Series
Told through the stories of three individuals, The Sakada Series provides a glimpse into the world of the Filipino men, and their families, who immigrated to Hawai‘i between 1906-1946: Cipriano Erice, who worked for the Waialua Sugar Plantation; Angel Ramos, who worked for the Kahuku Sugar Plantation and Apolonia Agonoy Stice, who grew up in Lana‘i City in the 1940s.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Maribel Apuya
Main photo: Cipriano Erice, star of A Sakada Story, reflecting at the old Waialua Sugar Mill, where he worked for more than a decade.
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Just a little background on my film – The Sakada Series is a series of three short films that captures the personal stories of the Sakadas and of the second-generation Filipino Americans in Hawaii, within a cultural and historical context. Sakadas are Filipino men who immigrated to Hawaii between 1906-1946 to work as contract laborers for Hawaii’s sugar and pineapple plantations.
I created the series to capture and preserve an aspect of my Filipino heritage. The Sakadas are now a dying generation; they carry within them historical experiences and intrinsic Filipino values of hard work, perseverance, community and dedication to family that I find inspiring and wanted to share with the young generation. The film is dedicated to my late grandfather who worked as a plantation laborer in Hawaii with the dream of a better life. I am the product of his dream.
The Sakada Series also captures the end of an era. The sugar and pineapple plantations dominated the Hawaii industry in the early 1900’s and it was the center of the local people’s lives and livelihoods for many years. The last sugar plantation, located in Maui, closed at the end of 2016.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The Sakada Series is a universal story of immigration and pursuing the American dream. While it captures the Filipino-American perspective, it is every immigrant’s story who comes to America, takes initiative, works hard and builds a good life. I think there is also something powerful about learning about other people’s heritage and histories; the knowing and sharing bridges understanding and builds respect for one another.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Each episode in The Sakada Series features a life story. As my team and I got to know each documentary subject, we found a throughline that best represented who they are, and within a cultural and historical context, and we followed that throughline. It has been my experience with documentary filmmaking that stories find their own expression and all I need to do is follow the story it wants to be.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
During film screenings, mostly very good. The stories are meant to be uplifting and I think that helps. We screened in Hawaii for the most part – within the community, film festivals and at the public schools – which are all very good because it’s a Hawaii film and built with education in mind. There are future screenings in the Philippines and at the Philippine Consulate General in NYC. I would like to expand the screenings to a broader North American and global audience, whoever would embrace it.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
In terms of screenings, I would love the film to reach a broader North American and global audience. That has not happened for this film yet, but I continue to try and I would love support in this area.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I definitely hope to gain the attention of any individuals (film festival directors, educators, national historical societies, and organizations who preserve models of culture and history) who can benefit from having the film.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would just love to connect with and/or screen with other filmmakers celebrating culture and history. I think that would be very powerful.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Gleaning on what I just said, I hope the film would be a reminder to celebrate our history and heritage. Knowing who we are, which in part comes from being connected to our culture and ancestry, holds great power.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Perhaps not so much a question, but a statement that an archivist and historian friend of mine has made, always brings me back to what makes this film significant: “Not knowing your history is like being a tree without roots.”
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you so much for featuring The Sakada Series on your website!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m currently developing a narrative feature film, which I’d like to produce as my next project. The Sakada Series has also inspired me to continue to document culture and history, and I hope to create more of these bite-sized short docs to feature Hawaii, its people, culture and history.
Interview: January 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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The Sakada Series
Told through the stories of three individuals, The Sakada Series provides a glimpse into the world of the Filipino men, and their families, who immigrated to Hawai‘i between 1906-1946: Cipriano Erice, who worked for the Waialua Sugar Plantation; Angel Ramos, who worked for the Kahuku Sugar Plantation and Apolonia Agonoy Stice, who grew up in Lana‘i City in the 1940s.
Length: 35min
Producer, Director and Writer: Maribel Apuya
Maribel Apuya is an independent Filipino-American writer and filmmaker born in the Philippines and grew up in Hawaii. She is a graduate of Waipahu High School (Magna Cum Laude) and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she was both a Presidential Scholar and a National Science Foundation Scholar.
A former Miss Hawaii Filipina, Maribel spent a decade in New York City training in theater performance. She attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater, a two-year acting conservatory and worked with renowned theater companies such as SITI Theater, Shakespeare & Company, the Linklater Center, and others. She is a graduate of UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting. The preservation of the Filipino experience in Hawai’i has been a major topic of interest for Maribel, as explored in her series of short films, The Sakada Series.
Contributing Producer and Director of Photography: Stuart Yamane (bio can also be found at: http://thesakadaseries.com/thecreativeteam)
Stuart Yamane is an award winning producer, writer and director, formerly an Executive Producer/ Director with PBS affiliate station PBS Hawaii (KHET), and now an independent Producer/Director. Mr. Yamane was been awarded numerous national awards for outstanding direction, writing and editing including three Emmy Awards, Bronze, Silver and Gold Tele Awards. Yamane’s film, “Journey of Honor“ aired nationally on PBS and received an Emmy Award in the prestigious documentary category.
Prior to joining PBS Hawaii, Yamane worked as Creative Director for Myers Advertising, Broadcast Producer for Starr Seigle McCombs Advertising, and Video Communications Manager for Bankcorp Hawaii’s Marketing Services Division.
Editor: Daniel Bernardoni (bio can also be found at: http://thesakadaseries.com/thecreativeteam)
Daniel has provided high-end broadcasting post-production services to local clients since 2001. A graduate of Leeward Community College and the Ecole des Arts & Metier in Geneva, Daniel brings excellent computer skills, extended experience in broadcast graphics, and a strong visual sense of composition to his work. He is also professionally trained in the authoring of fully interactive DVD.
Since coming to Hawaii from his native Switzerland in 1986, Daniel has provided design and editorial services to Island Post, Downtown Post, and Pacific Focus before establishing DBBC. He is the recipient of both local and national industry awards for his broadcast work. In recent years, Daniel has specialized in the creation of After Effects animations and compositing for video programs, spots, and show opens.
Key cast:
Cipriano Erice, A Sakada Story
Angel Ramos, Living Treasure
Apolonia Agonoy Stice, Filipina
Looking for:
· Film festival directors who would bring the film to a broad audience
· Journalists and media people to review and feature the film in their work
· Teachers and educators who would like to use the film in their classes. Subject matters: plantation history, immigration, Filipino American experience in Hawaii, and etc.
· National historical societies, arts and humanities foundations, museums and archival organizations and any other organizations who preserve models of work on culture, history and plantation life.
· Film distributors, buyers and sales agents
Social media handles:
Facebook: Maribel Apuya
http://www.facebook.com/thesakadaseries or www.facebook.com/asakadastory
Website: thesakadaseries.com
Funders: Honolulu Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, Atherton Family Foundation and Boutique de Voile.
Made in association with: Filipino-American Historical Society of Hawai'i (FAHSOH), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which preserves and promotes an appreciation of the Filipino heritage and the experiences of Filipino Americans in Hawai‘i.
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? TBD, please check our website and Facebook pages for future public screenings.