Three Hawaii high school seniors got their short films into a Pacific Island film festival in New York City — a win for young local filmmakers and for Hawaii storytelling.

• Seniors from Mid-Pacific Institute's film program had their work chosen for the festival, which screened hundreds of short films from ten Pacific island nations.
• Two of the students, Pono Wong and Giselle Hunt, traveled to New York with program director Dana Park.
• One film, "Denial," follows a man with bipolar disorder who stops taking his medication; the other, "Cup of Joe," starts as a sitcom and turns into dystopian horror.
• The Kahil Foundation, run by former Miss Hawaii Ariana Su, paid for the trip.
• Meeting Emmy-winning writers at the closing gala showed the students that a career in film is within reach.

Outlook: The students plan to keep making films in Hawaii and telling local stories to audiences far from home.