"Maisa the Chamoru Girl who Saves Guåhan" Production Panel Discussion to follow the Hawai'i Premiere at Doris Duke Theater May 29, 2016 at 1pm

Immediately following the Hawai'i Premiere of Maisa the Chamoru Girl who Saves Guåhan
Please join us for a post-screening discussion with film director Michael Q. Ceballos, executive producer Rufina Mendiola, lead animator Cherise Takiguchi, lead animator Kai Lono, and screenwriter Brian Watanabe. 

This is a free but ticketed event. Please RSVP here.

Panelist bios

​Michael Q. Ceballos - Director/Executive Producer
Michael is a veteran of the animation industry, with more than 20 years of experience under his belt. Among the many diverse projects he has worked on, there are a few notable highlights. At Nickelodeon, he honed his skills on the cult hit "The Angry Beavers" as lead character designer and supervisor. He also worked with legendary film producer Robert Evans, who produced The Godfather and Chinatown, on his animated biographic show "Kid Notorious" for Comedy Central. In 2005, Mr. Ceballos relocated to Honolulu, where he art directed and co-wrote two RPG educational games for struggling 4th grade readers, entitled "Cosmos Chaos!" for the Nintendo DS system, and also created and produced the award winning "E Ho‘omau!" animated series of films and educational books. In 2013, Mr. Ceballos formed Twiddle Productions in Honolulu where he has directed and produced Ola Na Iwi: Hāloa, and  Maisa, the Chamoru Girl who Saves Guahan.

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Rufina Mendiola - Executive Producer/Writer
Mrs. Mendiola is the current Administrator for the Chamoru Studies & Special Projects Division for the Guam Department of Education. She is also a language expert and educator and has continuously taught the Chamoru Language in the Guam Public School System and at the University of Guam for the past 35 years. Mrs. Mendiola has also previously produced a Documentary DVD under the Fino’ Håya Indigenous Language and is also an author of four books. Most recently she has written a children’s book that was published for the 12th Festival of the Pacific Arts 2016.

*Mrs. Mendiola will be joining the Panel Discussion via Skype from Guam

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​Brian Watanabe-Screenplay
Brian Watanabe is the screenwriter of The Rogues Gallery, which went on to become the cult film Operation: Endgame starring Ellen Barkin, Maggie Q and Zach Galifianakis. He's developed scripts for production companies at Fox and Sony. Brian is also an award-winning advertising copywriter living in Hawai‘i.

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Cherise Takiguchi- Maisa Lead animator.
Cherise is a Hawai‘i-based artist and animator whose work can be seen in many diverse projects such as the Universal Studios 3D Ride "Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem", and the 3D animated Looney Tunes short, "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat”, “Veggie Tales,” and the Discovery Channel’s “Dinosaur Revolution” Cherise has also taught animation at Kapi‘olani Community College and ‘Iolani School. 

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Kai Lono- Maisa Animator/Compositor
Kai Lono started his career out of high school in animation as a intern on the E Ho‘omau Hawaiian legend animated project. He soon became the background lead and set the background style for E Ho‘omau: The Menehune and The Birds, which screened locally at HIFF and festivals across the country. In addition to his background in animation, Kai is also a musician and illustrator.

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