Ohina Labs

11/24/2025

Mahalo to Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design for partnering with us to make this program happen!

11/24/2025

Another great year of ‘Ohina Labs! Mahalo Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design for partnering with us!

06/24/2025

'Ohina Labs in partnership with , is back! The 2025 call for entries is now open! Submit by going to filmfreeway.com/OhinaFilmmakersLab. Free to submit. The deadline to submit is August 11th! Submit your short film scripts (15 pages or less) now!

03/26/2025

Thank you to NMG Network Halekulani Hotel for spotlighting the work we do. Additional thanks to Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design for providing a creative campus for us! https://living.halekulani.com/hawaiian-filmmakers/. We look forward to bringing Arinix's project to life!

Hawai‘i’s next generation of filmmakers converge at Shangri La to learn from masters of visual storytelling.

06/09/2024

Mark your calendars: the ‘Ohina Labs 2024 Call for Entries is now open!

‘Ohina is looking for interested screenwriters or directors to submit their short scripts from June 9th to August 24th for consideration in this year's free workshop held this November. Up to 10 accepted applicants will be mentored by leading film industry creatives during the Lab, held from November 16 to 23. Applicants for ‘OHINA LABS 2024 must be either a current or former resident of Hawai‘i, with a script (15-page maximum) in any genre that can be produced and shot in Hawai‘i. One entry per applicant only. Fellows will be notified by October 7th.
This seventh annual ‘Ohina Labs is made possible with support from Pacific Islanders in Communications.

As always, it's FREE to submit. Your story or yourself MUST have a connection to Hawai'i.

For info on how to submit to , application requirements, and new about this year's Labs (including mentors!), please visit ohina.org or find us on Film Freeway.

Best of luck—we're excited to see your submissions!

11/11/2023

‘Ohina Labs continues this weekend! Among our mentors for this year’s Lab Fellows is writer, director, producer, and editor Blackhorse Lowe!

A filmmaker from the Navajo Nation, Blackhorse Lowe’s movies have played at Sundance, Tribeca, and the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. Lowe is an alumni of the Sundance Institute’s NativeLab and a 2019-2020 Tulsa Artist Fellow.

Mahalo for joining us, Blackhorse!

11/10/2023

Had a great first weekend at this year’s ‘Ohina Labs!

Industry pros Blackhorse Lowe and Vanessa Tayler worked with our Labs Fellows, offering script notes and filmmaker advice. This coming weekend, these Fellows will be pitching their concepts to ‘Ohina and Pacific Islanders in Communications—best of luck!

11/04/2023

Congratulations to our 2023 ‘Ohina Fellows!

Now through November 12, these filmmakers will be mentored by industry pros, receive notes, have the opportunity to pitch their short films, and more.

We’re proud to present this sixth annual ‘Ohina Labs, in partnership with Pacific Islanders in Communications, and with mentors Vanessa Taylor and Blackhorse Lowe.

Stay tuned for more!

10/27/2023

‘Ohina Labs returns to Honolulu this November 3 to 12! As always, our Labs Fellows will be mentored by industry pros. This year, that includes screenwriter and producer Vanessa Taylor!

An alumni of The Groundlings, Vanessa wrote the screenplays for HOPE SPRINGS, DIVERGENT, HILLBILLY ELEGY, and THE SHAPE OF WATER—for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. As a producer, Vanessa’s television credits include ALIAS, EVERWOOD, and GAME OF THRONES.

Mahalo for joining us, Vanessa!

10/18/2023

‘Ohina Labs returns to Honolulu this November!

This year’s Lab Fellows will be mentored during an extended workshop from November 3 to 12, where they’ll have an opportunity to learn from industry pros, pitch their short films, receive notes, and more. This sixth annual is made possible with support from Pacific Islanders in Communications and The BoxJelly. Mahalo to our outstanding partners—and best of luck to our filmmakers!

Our 2023 mentors include GAME OF THRONES producer and SHAPE OF WATER screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, and RESERVATION DOGS director and writer Blackhorse Lowe. Stay tuned to social media to learn more about this two powerful storytellers, and more updates about this year’s Labs!