Applications available for upcoming Hisako Film Lab, founded by Maui filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton

Hisako Film Lab is now accepting applications for their annual Summer Lab. Founded by Maui-raised filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, this advanced filmmaking program offers an in-depth immersion for motivated high school students eager to elevate their storytelling and production skills in an exciting, project-based environment.

Maui-based students from all schools entering grades 10-12 for the 2025-2026 school year (ages 15 and up) and graduating seniors (class of 2025) are eligible to apply.

Students will work together to create original short narrative films, with all equipment provided. They will go through the whole process of researching, pitching, writing, filming and editing their films, while receiving detailed guidance from a team of filmmaking instructors and film industry professionals. This program is absolutely free.

Prior guest mentors include Maui-based Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks (creators of Golden Globe and Emmy-sweeping series “Shogun”), O’ahu-based screenwriters Jordan and Aaron Kandell (“Moana”), Aunty Pua Case (“Standing Above the Clouds”), and Hisako founder Destin Daniel Cretton (director of Marvel Studios’ upcoming “Spider-Man 4”).

“Our goal is to really nurture the students that are right in front of us and to give young people on Maui specifically an opportunity,” said Hisako Film Lab founder, Destin Daniel Cretton.

Motivated students eager to elevate their storytelling and production skills in an exciting, project-based setting are encouraged to apply. Applicants will ideally have previous filmmaking experience and understand basic digital camera settings and editing software. However, serious applicants with less film experience are also welcome to apply.

Program dates are June 10 to July 24 with registration deadlines of May 2 (early deadline) and June 2 (late deadline, pending availability). Classes will be held three days a week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College in the Media classroom, with various filming locations around the island during production. 

Completed student films will be showcased at a premiere on island while also being entered in film festivals around the country. Last year’s 2024 Summer Lab student films were accepted into Hawaiʻi International Film Festival’s ʻŌpio Festival on Oʻahu, and the filmmakers were flown over for an unforgettable weekend with other student filmmakers from across the state. The films have also been accepted into the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival taking place at Comic-Con International.

Stay tuned for the latest Hisako x Huliau Showcase of their Spring Lab films coming up later in May.

For more details and application, visit Hisako Film Lab’s website: hisakofilmlab.com. 

Hisako Film Lab is a nonprofit founded to educate the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s storytellers and filmmakers. It was founded in 2023 by Destin Daniel Cretton, a Maui-raised filmmaker known for directing Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and the upcoming “Spider-Man 4.”

Local operations for the film lab on Maui are co-directed by Brad Kester, a filmmaker and CTE credentialed teacher, and Joy Cretton, a costume designer also Maui-raised who has worked on major films and television series including “American Born Chinese,” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”