David Y. Ige

Programs Accelerate Growth of Hawaii’s Creative Entrepreneurs
HONOLULU – The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s (DBEDT) Creative Industries Division (CID) announces a series of events to grow Hawaii’s creative entrepreneurs.  The events include two panel discussions, a keynote talk and an ideation weekend, which are all free and open to the public. The programs are made possible through the department’s Creative Lab Hawaii (CLH).

“These programs are designed to educate and stimulate interest among Hawaii’s creative entrepreneurs who want take their ideas for web-related content, animation or mobile game creation to the next level,” said DBEDT Director, Luis P. Salaveria. “The department’s Creative Lab Hawaii is a perfect example of an initiative that is building the creative entrepreneurs of the future.”

Creative Lab Hawaii Programs (free and open to the public):

Creative Lab Hawaii @ HIFF Web-Series Panel Discussion
Date:  June 8
Time:  6 to 7 p.m.
Place:  The Modern Honolulu, 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96815
RSVP:  https://bit.ly/CLHHIFFWS

Panelists are Bernie Su (two-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning multi-platform series creator); Hannah Cheesman (Canadian Screen Award-nominated actor, writer and filmmaker); and Julian De Zotti (award-winning multi-hyphenate from Toronto who’s been nominated for two Canadian Tony’s for his stage work).

Keynote address – A Conversation w/James Fino
Date:  June 10
Time:  7 to 8 p.m.
Place:  The Modern Honolulu, 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96815
RSVP:  https://bit.ly/CLHHIFFKEY

James Fino is the executive producer of the Academy Award nominated animated motion picture, “Anomalisa.”

Creative Lab Hawaii @ HIFF Animation Panel Discussion
Date: June 11
Time:  5 to 6 p.m.
Place:  The Modern Honolulu
RSVP:  https://bit.ly/CLHHIFFAP

The animation panel discussion is an event designed for individuals who are interested in learning more about animated content. Panelists include James. A. Fino and Iyan M. Bruce, an animation producer, and currently, the Director of Global Entertainment Content Strategy, Marketing and Distribution for Mattel, Inc.

Ideation Weekend 2 – Animation Storytelling
Date:  Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12
Time:  10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Place: The Modern Honolulu
RSVP:  https://bit.ly/CLHAIW

The animation storytelling animation workshop includes coaches, who are animation producers James Fino (Simpsons, HBO’s Animals) and Iyan Bruce (animation producer for Stan Lee), now director of Global Entertainment Content Strategy, Marketing and Distribution for Mattel, Inc.

Creative Lab Hawaii @ HIFF Mobile Games Panel Discussion
Date:  Wednesday, June 15
Time:  6 to 7 p.m.
Place: The Modern Honolulu
RSVP:  https://bit.ly/CLHHIFFMG

This mobile game panel discussion is an event designed for individuals who are interested in learning more about mobile games content.  Panelists are Andy Dunn, Deluxe Digital; Chris Zukowski, Return to Adventure Mountain Publishing; and Tim Winsky, TwinSky Games.

“Creative Lab Hawaii continues to expand content opportunities in media, tapping into mentors with exceptional industry experience who work one-on-one with our creative entrepreneurs to increase the export of creative intellectual property from Hawaii,” said Georja Skinner, CID chief officer.

CLH strategic partners include: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA); Innovate Hawaii, High Tech Development Corporation (HTDC); the Writers Guild of America (WGA), West; International Game Developers Association (IGDA); the Producers Guild of America (PGA); The Modern Honolulu; Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF); and Arthur’s Limousine/SpeediShuttle.

About DBEDT (Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism)
DBEDT is Hawaii’s resource center for economic and statistical data, business development opportunities, energy and conservation information, and foreign trade advantages. DBEDT’s mission is to achieve a Hawaii economy that embraces innovation and is globally competitive, dynamic and productive, providing opportunities for all Hawaii’s citizens. Through its attached agencies, the department fosters planned community development, creates affordable workforce housing units in high-quality living environments, and promotes innovation sector job growth.

About CID (Creative Industries Division)
CID, a division within DBEDT, is the state’s lead agency dedicated to advocating for and accelerating the growth of Hawaii’s Creative Economy.  Through initiatives, program development, and strategic partnerships, the division and its branches implements activities to expand the business development, global export and investment capacity of Hawaii’s arts, culture, music, film, literary, publishing, digital and new media industries.

The Creative Lab Hawaii (CLH) program is designed to accelerate the growth of Hawaii’s creative entrepreneurs through immersive, hands-on training in broadband/new media, producing, screenwriting, interactive media, music and design/fashion.

Funding for the Creative Lab Hawaii program is made possible through the Legislature’s allocations to the Creative Industries Division/DBEDT, supporting the state’s HI Growth Initiative  and is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) to build a pipeline of skills development from the DOE, connecting to University and then to Industry.

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Media Contacts:

Christine Hirasa
Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
Phone: (808) 587-9006
Mobile: (808) 286-9017
Email: [email protected]
Website: dbedt.hawaii.gov

Piia M. Aarma  
Pineapple Tweed PR & Marketing (for Creative Industries Division)
Phone: (808) 737.1904
Mobile: (808) 221.2102
Emails: [email protected]

Isabella Hughes
Pineapple Tweed PR & Marketing (for Creative Industries Division)
Mobile: (808) 375.9381
Email: [email protected]