MEDIA RELEASE

WAIKOLOA, HAWAI‘I—The Fourth Annual Big Island “Talk Story” Film Festival concluded Sunday, May 17 with presentation of the Golden Honu awards for best short and feature films in several categories at a celebratory brunch in the Hilton Waikoloa Village Lagoon Lanai.
Winning entries from Hawaii, the Mainland and beyond the U.S. covered a wide variety of stories and issues from environmental conservation to super-advanced gaming, drug use, prizefighting and TV talk shows.

“This year’s films were extremely high quality,” said Founder/Executive Director Leo Sears of Waikoloa. “The final scoring was quite close, and so many were under consideration. I think we are going to be hearing a lot more from these filmmakers in the future.”

2009 Golden Honu Awards

• Best Student Short, “Bohemibot.” Producer–Brendan Bellomo, Director–Victor Bellomo, Writer–Brendan Bellomo
• Best Student Feature, “Rigged.” Producer–Jonathan Dillon, Director–Jonathan Dillon, Bobby McGee and Chad Ortis, Writer–Ian Short
• Best Hawaii Short, “Rain.” Producer–Thomas Takemoto-Chock, Director–Jonathan Walk and Osler Go, Writer–Thomas Takemoto-Chock, Hdology Productions
• Best Hawaii Feature, “Relapse.” Producer–David McFadzean, Director/Writer–Willy Navarro and John Hill, 24 Frames of Light
• Best Foreign Short, “Gone Fishing.” Producer–Chris Jones, Director–Ivan Francis Clements, Writer–Chris Jones, Living Spirit Pictures
• Best Family Short, “Batter Up”. Producer/Director/Writer–Josh Webber. Webstar Productions.
• Best Family Feature, “The Controller.” Producer/Writer–Frank Michels, Director–Nansi Michels, Cut-Scene Productions, LLC
• Best Animated Film, “Hot Dog.” Producer/Writer–Bill Plympton, Director-Biljana Labovic, Plymptoons
• The Barbara Award for the film which best celebrates children, “Hunter’s Adventure.” Producer–Willy Navarro, Director/Writer–Joel Angyal, 24 Frames of Light
• Audience Choice Short, “Kung Fu Granny.” Producer/Writer–Myra Velasquez, Director–Myra Velasquez and Sunah Kim Schultz, Red Panda Productions
• Audience Choice Feature, “God’s Ears.” Producer/Writer–Michael Worth, Director–Steve Hayes, Grizzly Peak Films
• Best Overall Short, “The Line.” Producer–Kent Bassett, Director/Writers–Kent Bassett and Michelle Johnson, Sleeper Productions
• Best Overall Feature, “Remarkable Power.” Producer–Brandon Beckner, Director–David Florimbi, Jerod Foos, Mike Lawrence and Tom Arnold, Writer–Brandon Beckner, Scott Sampila, Parrot Poet Pictures

The Big Island “Talk Story” Film Festival is a four-day celebration of independent narrative filmmaking. Sponsors include Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaii County Product Enrichment Program, Waikoloa Beach Resort, Queens’ MarketPlace, Hawaii County Film Office, Hawaii 50th Statehood Anniversary Commission and many others.

For more information visit www.BigIslandFilmFestival.com or call 808-883-0394.

All-League Girls

Athlete of the Year: Ku’uipo Nakoa JR Hawaii Prep

Coach of the Year: Kamehameha Coaches

Honorable Mention

Hawaii Prep: Tatiana Marti, Lana Queen, Kela Vargas, Hana Scully
Hilo: Linda Sunia, Alyssa Hoshide, Shalila De Bourmont
Honoka’a: Kim Kishimoto
Kea’au: Ariana Graham, Amy Eriksson, Azmera Hammouri, Kathleen Van Cleave
Kealakehe: Rachael Bianchi, Kaila Voss
Kohala: Mary Josephine Osorio
Konawaena: Anuhea Wall, Anjelica Sanderson, Kaua Wall
Kamehameha: Lilinoe Heaukulani, Lyan Apilado, Jessica Marote, Victoria Evans-Bautista, Natasha Ah Chong, Kaitlyn Yamamoto, Kekelaokalaui Bennett, Corin Kim
Ku O Ka La: Lorena Shire
Waiakea: Alyssa Buyuan, Kelsie Kobayashi

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All-League Boys

Athlete of the Year: Jacob Edwards JR Ka’u

Coach of the Year: Bill McMahon, Hilo

Honorable Mention

Christian Liberty: Jeremy Grotenhuis, Justin Pang
Hawaii Prep: George Twigg-Smith, Tyler Tsubota
Hilo: Billy Ray, Leo Campbell, Bronson Kahaleua, Alan Tilanus, James Yoshimoto, Cameron Calistro
Honoka’a: Ian Laird, Chris Mosch
Kea’au: Jesse Huihui, Edward Dalton, Broc Bangloy, Daniel Brooks, Patrick Understeller, Jelani Alcott, Jelani Young
Kealakehe: Remington Noguchi, Jake Jordan, Luca Walter
Kohala: Ethan Meikle, Conn Wallman
Konawaena: Austin Denike, Ricky Pekala
Kamehameha: Kainoa Crum, Manta Dircks, Isaac DeRego, Pono Grace, Everett McKee
Waiakea: Travis Winters