HBA student-produced film Recall has made it into this year’s Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF).

The festival showcases top submitted films from around the Asia Pacific region. Recall, directed by HBA alumni Davin Miyahara, is an action/drama film based off tragedies that took place in WWII.

Recall was produced last year—Miyahara’s senior year—in the Art and History of Film class taught by Sean Malinger. In this class, students learn about filmmaking and are tasked with completing a film project by the end of the class.

Current junior Alyssa Futa was the producer. She said, “I feel pretty proud of our group. We worked hard last year and seeing that effort rewarded is a very good feeling.” Costume Designer Alexys Adriance was also glad that all their hard worked paid off. Current senior Tanner Isaacs, production illustrator for the film, stated that he was proud that Recall was accepted into a major film festival.

Malinger pointed out that there are many important roles that are needed to make a successful film. If students are put off by the class because they think they lack artistic talent, Malinger states that “filmmaking is the most collaborative art, and there is a place for everyone even if the don’t feel they are artistic.”

Two other films produced by HBA students were also submitted to the festival: The Deal, and It’s Alive. The Deal was produced by students in the Animation class taught by Garrett Omoto, while It’s Alive was produced by another group in Malinger’s class. Malinger said that he was disappointed that these two films did not also make it into the festival. “I was surprised,” he said, “because the other films that we submitted were very good. The Deal had a more cohesive story than Recall, and It’s Alive had some great animation.”

The crew behind Recall said that the production of the film was a challenging experience. Futa, Adriance, Isaacs, and Malinger all agree that the group struggled with time management. The students also wished that they had a bigger budget to work with. “[The] costumes were just so poor,” Isaacs said. “All we had were shirts with the 442nd logo stitched on and shared one military helmet. I wish we had more money to get some really cool stuff like replica World War II guns, bandoliers, ammo packs, canteens, army boots, and stuff like that but since Mr. Malinger was so adamant about our budget, we just did what we could.”

Malinger said he is proud of Recall’s achievement and added, “I think that getting into the festival validates our film program and sets a high bar for us to strive for in the future.”

The Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) will be held at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 & IMAX, which serves as the main venue for the screening of HIFF films. Recall will be showing on Saturday, November 21 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets are free.