A local filmmaker is screening her NYU thesis film at the Hawaii International Film Festival and starting a new documentary on a Native Hawaiian opera star, a heartwarming but non-financial story for island audiences.

• Her thesis film, shot in Hawaii with an all-local, fully Hawaiian cast, follows a boy trying to trap his late mother's akiakeiki bird and deals with grief, cultural preservation, and the challenges of living far from home.
• The film is screening at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival, bringing the project back to where it was made and cast.
• She's now filming a documentary on Native Hawaiian opera singer Quinn Kelsey, who is performing three roles this season at New York's Metropolitan Opera, including Tosca and the upcoming Samson and Delilah.
• The documentary explores Hawaiian diaspora life, following Kelsey and a Hawaii-raised crew working in New York at a time when more Hawaiians live on the continent than in the islands.

Outlook: The opera documentary is about a month into filming and will continue through Kelsey's Met Opera season into December.