Cinema Italiano 2008
Distinguished Jurors
Chris Lee, Jury President
Chris Lee, Executive Producer for Bryan Singer’s thriller VALKYRIE currently in production at United Artists, is the Founder and Director of the University of Hawai’i Academy for Creative Media (ACM).
Previously, Mr. Lee was the President of Production at TriStar Pictures and Columbia Pictures, where as a Production Executive he oversaw such Academy Award-winning films as JERRY MAGUIRE, PHILADELPHIA and AS GOOD AS IT GETS. He also worked on numerous other hits such as MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, LEGENDS OF THE FALL, THE FISHER KING, THE MASK OF ZORRO, GODZILLA (1998) and THE PATRIOT.
Mr. Lee was also a Founding Partner and President of Legendary Pictures which successfully raised $500 million in private equity to match an additional $500 million in production funding from Warner Brothers for pictures such as BATMAN BEGINS, SUPERMAN RETURNS and 300.
Mr. Lee was Executive Producer for SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006) for Warner Brothers, produced Columbia Pictures’ SWAT, the ground-breaking CGI feature FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN (2001) and produced and edited his first Chinese language feature ONE FOOT OFF THE GROUND aka Ji Quan Bu Ning.
The first Asian-American and minority to run production at a Hollywood studio, Mr. Lee is a frequent speaker on the globalization of popular culture and the media, recently keynoting the Thai Government’s 2007 Animation and Multi-Media Conference on "Global Economic Opportunities Through Digital Entertainment".
Mr. Lee served on the jury for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival All Access Program, the 2002 Hawaii International Film Festival, the 2007 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, and is a founding member of the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE).
A graduate of Honolulu’s Iolani School and Yale University, his first job was with ABC’s Good Morning America followed by Wayne Wang’s DIM SUM: A LITTLE BIT OF HEART.
Neal Israel
Neal Israel has worked as a writer, director, producer and occasional actor for films, television and Broadway. A sampling of over 30 film credits: created the POLICE ACADEMY (1984 - 1994) films, wrote and directed BACHELOR PARTY (1984) starring Tom Hanks, wrote REAL GENIUS (1985) starring Val Kilmer, co-wrote LOOK WHO’S TALKING TOO (1990), and Executive Produced FINDING NEVERLAND (2004) starring Johnny Depp (the film received seven Oscar nominations). Mr. Israel has directed numerous movies of the week and television shows from The Wonder Years to Clueless to Joan of Arcadia. He has just directed a new science fiction series for NBC Digital starring Rosario Dawson (Gemini Division), as well as writing a new comedy pilot for Fox starring Elliott Gould. He has received an Emmy, a Writers Guild of America Award and won a best picture honor from the National Board of Review.
Edgy Lee
Edgy Lee is a fifth generation Hawaii-born filmmaker and producer. Her most recent film, THE HAWAIIANS- REFLECTING SPIRIT (2006), was presented at the opening of the Smithsonian Institution Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC. Ms. Lee’s filmography includes award-winning films such as PAPAKOLEA, A STORY OF HAWAIIAN LAND (1998) (Corporation for Public Broadcasting Silver Award, Independent Program); WAIKIKI- IN THE WAKE OF DREAMS (2001) (New York Film & Video Festival Best Cinematography, Best Editing); and PANIOLO O HAWAI’I- COWBOYS OF THE FAR WEST (2000) (CINE Golden Eagle, Best Documentary History, Writing), among others.
In 2004 and 2005, Ms. Lee produced two films on methamphetamine in unprecedented prime time simulcasts on eleven television stations throughout the state of Hawaii. For this work, she was one of the ten honored in the Star Bulletin’s Ten Made Mighty Difference in 2004 editorial published on January 1, 2005. Ms. Lee recently completed production of the Pacific Network (www.PacificNetork.tv), an Internet network of nine channels: a nexus for Hawaii news, entertainment, sports, travel, science and environment, vintage comedy, music and interactive programs for the classroom.
Jason Scott Lee
Los Angeles-born and Hawaii-raised actor and impresario Jason Scott Lee’s impressive filmography includes the starring role in MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART (1993), Bruce Lee in DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY (1993), Walt Disney Pictures’ THE JUNGLE BOOK (1994), PICTURE BRIDE (1994), LILO & STITCH (2002), ONLY THE BRAVE (2005), BALLS OF FURY (2007) and DANCE OF THE DRAGON (2008-Singapore).
Mr. Lee received the Hawaii International Film Festival’s Silver Maile Award for achievement in acting in 1994; the East West Players Visionary Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in 1996 and the 2002 Second Generation Honoree Award. Mr. Lee was also nominated for an MTV Award for his performance as Bruce Lee, for which he trained in Bruce Lee’s signature martial art Jeet Kune Do. He continues to practice Jeet Kune Do, and is now a certified instructor under former Bruce Lee student Jerry Poteet.
Jason Scott Lee is currently a Big Island resident, whose compound Pu Mu (a name chosen by Lee that means "simplicity" and "nothingness") exemplifies responsible agriculture and ecological stewardship. Mr. Lee is the owner of Ulua Theatre, which opened in 2005, where he performed as Pale in the stage production Burn This. He pursues his interest in live performance through Ulua Theatre, which shares socially conscious plays, workshops and classes with the community.
Peter Shaindlin
Hotelier Peter Shaindlin, COO of Halekulani Corporation, has a natural affinity for the cinematic arts: his father Jack Shaindlin was Musical Director of 20th Century Fox Pictures and composed significant film, documentary and animated film scores for more than fifty years. Raised in this unique artistic family environment, Peter Shaindlin was educated in music and fine arts as well as in business in New York City.
Mr. Shaindlin has worked and traveled extensively in Italy and is a passionate devotee of Italian film. In his little free time, he also pursues his passion for fine art photography and was featured in a major exhibition in June this year at the Honolulu Design Center. He periodically experiences infatuation with the works of Antonioni and Fellini among others, and is also an aficionado of various Italian artistic luminaries such as Manzoni, Verdi and Ecco. He particularly enjoys Siena and Milano and was an advocate for the unconditional repatriation and recognition of the House of Savoy to Torino. He enjoys immersing himself in ancient Roman historically-based works such as "The Defenses" of Cicero and the military excursions of Julius Caesar. Mr. Shaindlin is an erratic collector of fine Brunellos, and has found extraordinary sanctity in the blue grottoes of Ponza.
Mr. Shaindlin enjoys an established reputation for visionary leadership and pioneering innovation in the luxury hospitality industry and has achieved international recognition for developing and managing iconic institutions. He resides in Diamond Head with his wife Susan and daughters Valerie and Lana.
Special Guests
Franco Amurri
Born in Rome, writer/director Franco Amurri dedicated his youth to the arts, training as painter and photographer. He started working in the film industry in 1979 as assistant to Federico Fellini. After assisting many acclaimed International directors, he directed his first film in 1986. His second feature film, Da Grande (1987) concerns a boy who wishes to be a grown-up, and magically becomes a 40 year old with the mind of a child. This charming comedy was a critical and commercial hit in several countries. Shown at the Los Angeles AFM in 1988, it resulted in a deal at Paramount for Mr. Amurri to direct the action comedy Flashback (1990), starring Dennis Hopper and Kiefer Sutherland. His fourth film, Monkey Trouble (1994), with Thora Birch and Harvey Keitel, produced by Ridley Scott, is the story of a friendship between a nine-year-old girl and a monkey. The film was described by Variety as "ranking among the great animal movies", "a classic of its genre", and is now a fixture on the Disney Channel. Mr. Amurri went on to write and direct several other films; he lives between Rome and Vancouver. His more recent work includes the TV movie IL MIO AMICO BABBO NATALE, a Christmas Story which turned out to be one of the most watched films of 2005 in Italy, and the TV movie DUE IMBROGLIONI E MEZZO starring Sabrina Ferilli and Claudio Bisio. The network has turned it into a series of films, which Franco will start shooting in January 2009, with the same cast.
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim may not think of himself as a cultural ambassador, but in his role as native Korean Jin Kwon on the top-rated ABC series "Lost," he has enlightened audiences since the show’s debut in 2004. He shared a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for ensemble work in the acclaimed dramatic series. Mr. Kim was also recognized by People magazine as one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2005.
Born in Pusan, Korea and raised in New York and Pennsylvania, Daniel Dae Kim graduated with a B.A. from Haverford College. Though he briefly considered a career as an attorney, he began his acting career with a guest role on Law & Order. Concurrently, he began his work on stage, appearing in productions of "Romeo and Juliet" and an adaptation of Ibsen’s "A Doll’s House." Despite his early success, Mr. Kim decided to enroll in the Graduate Acting program at New York University, where he went on to earn an M.F.A.
Going back to school proved worthwhile, as Mr. Kim began to work immediately upon graduating. He guest starred on shows such as NYPD Blue, Seinfeld, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Star Trek: Voyager, CSI, Without a Trace and The Shield, among others. He also created notable recurring characters on popular shows such as Angel, ER, and, for two seasons, as Agent Tom Baker on 24. Mr. Kim will next be seen in the A&E mini-series The Andromeda Strain based on the book by Michael Crichton.
On the big screen, Mr. Kim’s career began in earnest with the action flick THE JACKAL, which led to roles in FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME, THE HULK, SPIDER MAN 2, THE CAVE, as well as the Oscar winner for Best Picture, CRASH. In addition to his work on screen, Daniel remains committed to the stage, most recently performing in a production of Chekhov’s "Ivanov" in New York.
Besides his SAG Award, in 2006 Daniel Dae Kim has been individually honored with an AZN Asian Excellence Award, a Multicultural Prism Award, and a Vanguard award from the Korean American Coalition, all for Outstanding Performance by an Actor.
He currently splits his time between Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York.
