Hisako Film Lab students premiere their original films before ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ at Regal Maui Mall

Before “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” before the red carpets and major film sets, there was a kid on Maui with a VHS camcorder. His grandmother, Hisako, gave it to him.

On Sunday evening, Aug. 9, that story came full circle as Hisako Film Lab students premiered their original short films on the big screen at Regal Maui Mall, surrounded by a community of more than 300 people from the Hisako Film Lab ʻohana, including current students, alumni who have completed previous labs, parents, grandparents, supporters and members of the Maui community.

The evening opened with an oli by Luana Chaves, a ninth-grade student at Kamehameha Schools Maui, setting the tone for a celebration rooted in place, community and the next generation. The student films were followed by an in-person Q&A with Hisako Film Lab founder and Maui-born-and-raised filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, followed by a special screening of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” which Cretton directed.

For the young filmmakers, the theater was not simply where they watched a movie. It was where they saw their own stories on the big screen.

The celebration followed what would have been Hisako’s 103rd birthday on August 8 and was held with respect for the third anniversary of the August 2023 Maui wildfires and the significance of this weekend for the Maui community.

The camera Hisako gave her grandson helped launch his filmmaking journey. The organization he created in her name is now putting cameras in the hands of Maui’s next generation.

At the heart of Hisako Film Lab is the belief that young people deserve the opportunity to be creative, curious about the world, and encouraged to dream big. The seven-week Hisako Film Lab Summer Lab gives motivated high school students from Maui an intensive, hands-on filmmaking experience. Working in small teams, students develop original short narrative films from the first story idea through the final edit.

They pitch concepts, write scripts, develop characters, handle pre-production, cast actors, film on location, edit their footage, create posters and prepare their finished projects for a public premiere. They don’t just study filmmaking. They make films.

The program is co-sponsored by the Academy for Creative Media at University of Hawaiʻi Maui College and connects students with working filmmakers and industry professionals, including Cretton, whose credits include “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

The 2026 Summer Lab ran from June 9 through July 23, with students working in teams and filming at locations around Maui during the production phase.

“One of my favorite things about our labs is how they bring together kids from all over the island and all different walks of life, and somehow they find this really cool creative connection. It’s so amazing to watch them learn how to work together, really listen to each other, and build enough trust to be vulnerable and share their own personal stories and ideas.

“Then they’re faced with all these challenges along the way, and somehow they figure it out as a team and make an entire film. Each original short film reflects the teamwork, creativity, the confidence they’ve built, and all the different perspectives and experiences they each bring from growing up here.

During the Q&A, Brad Kester, Co-Director of Hisako, invited Emma Jane Roy, a Hisako Film Lab alumna and Baldwin High School graduate, to the stage to share her experience with the audience.

Now attending Chapman University in Orange County near Los Angeles, Roy is pursuing film editing and recently had the opportunity to intern in the post-production offices for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

For four months, she went to the Disney lot twice a week after her 8 a.m. college class, gaining firsthand experience with the post-production process of a major feature film.

“As an aspiring film editor, just being able to go to the office on the Disney lot in person twice a week after my 8 a.m. college class for four months and experience the post-production process of a large movie was absolutely incredible. I gained so much knowledge from helping with anything and everything, from assisting the post-production assistants with crafty, lunch, and random tasks, to creating a last-frame-of-picture board for the first and second assistant editors to help them stay organized when sending turnovers to the different departments, and helping at the render station to go through the entirety of the movie on Avid,” said Roy.

“And on top of everything, just spending time with all the talented people in the office and making new friendships was truly the best part of the experience. I just need to express again what a life-changing opportunity this was and how much it meant to me and my passion for filmmaking. And it truly wouldn’t have been possible without Destin and the Hisako Film Lab, and I’m just incredibly grateful,” said Roy.

Another moment during the Q&A highlighted the persistence behind the students’ filmmaking process. Ezekiel K., a student at Haleakalā Waldorf School, shared the story behind his film, an idea he had first pitched during a previous Hisako Film Lab Summer Lab. When the idea wasn’t selected, he held onto it and brought it back the following year. Hisako Film Lab Co-Director Brad Kester recalled the journey, noting that this time, Ezekiel’s idea made it to the screen.

“Sometimes you feel like one of those unluckiest people, like nothing in life is going good for you. But you shouldn’t let that get you down,” said Ezekiel, a Hisako Film Lab Summer Lab filmmaker.

Sony sponsored Sunday evening’s theater experience, making it possible for the students to premiere their films on the big screen and share the evening with the people who helped them get there.

For Destin Daniel Cretton, Sunday’s event was more than another premiere for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” It was an opportunity to put the work of Maui’s young filmmakers at the center of the evening, before an audience that included the people who know and support them best.

Following the student films and Q&A, the audience watched “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

The film has made box-office history, opening to approximately $360 million domestically, the biggest domestic opening weekend ever and surpassing “Avengers: Endgame.” It went on to cross $1 billion worldwide in just six days, making it the second-fastest film ever to reach the milestone.

For the students in the theater, the connection was personal.

Cretton was born and raised in Haʻikū, Maui. His filmmaking journey began here, and on Sunday evening he sat with students who are beginning their own.

For Timothy Shim, the new principal of Kūlanihākoʻi High School in Kīhei, Sunday evening offered a firsthand look at what the Film Lab can make possible for students. After experiencing the student premiere Shim heard directly from the young filmmakers and industry professionals involved.

“As an educator with 24 years of experience working at 7 different schools (4 on Maui), I can confidently say that the Hisako Film Lab is one of the greatest partnerships with students that I have come to know. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for students who are passionate about film production to work with industry professionals to learn their craft. Hearing the testimony from both the students and professionals reminds me of the reciprocal relationship that should exist between the community and our youth. I look forward to working with the Film Lab to bring these opportunities to our school, so that our students can grow academically, socially, and professionally,” said Shim.

Hisako Film Lab represents another chapter in Maui’s long history of giving young people places to create, discover their voices and imagine what might be possible.

The camera Hisako gave her grandson started one story.

On Sunday night at Regal Maui Mall, Maui got to see the beginning of many more.