Destin Daniel Cretton, a Maui filmmaker has taken one of the world’s biggest movies to the silver Screen around the globe. As director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Cretton has made it to the heights of Hollywood.
Cretton was recently interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air
But back home on Maui, through Hisako Film Lab, the nonprofit he founded, he’s focused on helping young people find their own voices through filmmaking.
Hisako Film Lab is about more than just teaching young people how to make movies.
It’s about giving them the opportunity to develop their own creative voices, build confidence, learn how to work through a process and experience what it means to bring an idea to life.
They’re learning how to collaborate, solve problems, take creative risks and turn an idea into something real.
Filmmaking becomes a way to spark curiosity, open the door to real-world experiences and help young people see what might be possible for themselves.
The young filmmakers are learning much more than just how to make movies---they’re learning how to make something of their own.
Through Hisako’s seven-week Summer Lab program, high school students from across Maui come together to write, shoot, edit and premiere their own films.
Along the way, they learn that filmmaking is not a solitary pursuit—it’s a collaborative art built around many voices.
This Summer, Hisako filmmakers screened their work at the Wailuku Film Festival on Maui.
Eleven students also traveled from Maui to San Diego for Comic-Con, where they also participated in the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival.
And this summer, three Hisako interns also traveled to Los Angeles for a special Creator x Filmmaker experience connected to Spider-Man: Brand New Day-- meeting members of the film’s creative team and seeing firsthand how a major production comes together.
There’s something wonderfully circular about all of this--Cretton’s own filmmaking journey began on Maui, when his grandmother gave him a VHS camera.
He started making movies with his siblings, documenting the world around him and discovering storytelling through the simple act of making.
His grandmother later took Cretton and his siblings to Los Angeles, where he got a behind the scenes glimpse at Universal Studios.
Cretton realized that the movies he loved weren’t made by one person, but hundreds of people--bringing different skills, ideas and talents together.
For a young kid with a camera, it was a glimpse into what filmmaking could become.
Today, Cretton and his family are creating that same kind of spark for young people on Maui.
Hisako Film Lab is named for his grandmother, the person who first put that VHS camera in his hands.
And recently, those young filmmakers had a big-screen moment of their own. At Regal Maui Mall, students premiered the films they created during the Summer Lab.
Nearly 300 people came out to see them: students, alumni, parents, grandparents, family and friends.
After the films, the students sat down with Cretton for a conversation about filmmaking, storytelling and the experiences that happen along the way.
Because at Hisako, the goal isn’t simply to teach young people how to make a film.
And then the lights went down and the audience watched Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Young filmmakers from Maui had just watched their own stories premiered on the big screen.
Today, we’re going to meet with three young filmmakers.
Sam was part of Hisako’s very first Summer Lab and returned as an intern. He is now pursuing a degree in film at Loyola Marymount University.
Anna has combined live action and animation in her filmmaking and recently took her work to the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival during Comic-Con.
And Cailin, a current Hisako student, has already made films exploring family, identity, roots and even a murder mystery.
We’ll hear what these young filmmakers discovered about themselves, what they learned about working with one another, and what happens when young people are given the tools, the encouragement and the opportunity to tell their own stories.
And we’ll also hear from Destin Daniel Cretton and Brad Kester about the filmmaking community they’ve built on Maui, their commitment to nurturing the next generation of storytellers, and their vision for helping grow a vibrant creative community here in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific.
Come along and join the conversation with your host, Tom Wilmer…
Hisako Film Lab (HFL) is a filmmaking education organization providing hands-on instruction and resources to Maui’s youth. Hisako’s programs build foundational and in-depth film production skills, focusing on storytelling as a way to process and celebrate what makes us unique—including our personal histories, cultures, quirks, and the things we think about often but don’t regularly say out loud. Hisako’s goal is to create an accepting, fun space where young people can discover and amplify their creative voices through the powerful tools of filmmaking.
A registered non-profit, Hisako Film Lab was founded by Maui-born-and-raised filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, known for directing Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Brad Kester, a filmmaker and credentialed teacher, directs local operations on Maui and has mentored aspiring film students for over 10 years.
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