Hawaii's Neighbor Island Motion Picture Industry Need Your Help!
SUPPORT HB2610 TO PASS THROUGH THE SENATE!

97% of all the film industry work available in Hawai'i is ONLY made available on the island of Oahu.

There are three other islands that have film making communities but Oahu blocks any chance of work going to them. Is that fair? Are Kauai, Hawaii and Maui slaves to the state of Oahu? Why do they systematically block work from their brothers and sisters on the neighbor islands? Is it greed? Where is the "Aloha" for the other local citizens that work in this industry and need work to feed their families?

The motion picture industry in Hawai’i is a vital growth sector which diversifies the islands primarily tourist based economy. Television shows such as HAWAII 5-0, LOST and big-budget feature films like JURASSIC WORLD, HEREAFTER, GODZILLA and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN pump millions of dollars into our economy. Less than 3% of neighbor island citizens get the opportunity to work on major Oahu projects. Any major film/TV production that wants to work on any of the islands like Kauai, Hawaii and Maui, Oahu must give its consent. If Oahu says no, productions can only shoot where they give clearances and more often than not that means only on Oahu with no neighbor island participation. Why are qualified citizens on the islands of Kauai, Hawaii and Maui systematically cut out of every work opportunity?

When asked about shooting on the outer islands by mainland studios, they say our "infrastructure" is weak. How can that be developed when any chance for work is constantly stripped away from us? We have a plan to fix it yet it starts with having a fair work flow for us to develop! The current unbalanced system has been a problem for years and the time to change it begins NOW! Positive steps have to be taken to create fair and balanced job opportunities for all neighbor island citizens in the production industry throughout Hawai'i. 

HELP NEIGHBOR ISLAND CITIZENS REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM BY SIGNING THIS PETITION FOR HB2610!

Bill HB2610 (which has already passed the Ways and Means/House of Representatives committees and is on its way to the Senate) supports the local neighbor island citizens by requiring any film or TV production to make reasonable efforts to hire at least 60% of the behind the scenes work crew from the county in which the film's qualified costs are incurred.

By helping ensure the hires are conducted in a balanced manner, neighbor island talent and capabilities will improve, businesses that directly support the motion picture industry will thrive and more TV/Film content will emerge from the islands to continue to entertain and promote Hawai'i as the world’s premier visitor destination and film/TV production mecca. Help us send a positive message to our leaders.

If you are in the film industry or want to see justice done for local men and women that are looking for a chance to simply work in an industry they love near their families to make an honest contribution to their state economy, please share this petition and use the hashtag #LightsCameraAloha and #ShootItOnMaui when posting anything cause-related to production in Kauai, Hawaii and Maui.

View Bill HB2610 and see its progress at this Link: http://bit.ly/BillHB2610

Thank You and Mahalo

 

Friends of Neighbor Island Film Group
Friends of Neighbor Islands Movie And Television Consortium
Aloha Casting

Maui Film & TV Ohana
Element Pictures
Code 10 Productions