Festival Director
Brian Kohne is the Maui Film Commissioner and an award-winning motion picture writer, director, and producer (Get A Job, Kuleana), music producer (Barefoot Natives, Willie K), and playwright (White Hawaiian with Eric Gilliom). A 1982 graduate of Baldwin High School and an Art and Radio/TV/Film alumnus of San Jose State University, he returned to Maui in 2005 from Silicon Valley, where he excelled as a national director of sales and marketing, senior user interface architect for an interactive television company, and in sports broadcasting and corporate video production. Kohne is also a tenured assistant professor and the founder of the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii Maui College, where he continues to serve as program coordinator, mentoring the next generation of filmmakers and media creators.
Festival Producer
Stefan Schaefer is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has premiered at festivals including Berlin, SXSW, and Hawai‘i International and been released theatrically and on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, PBS, and the Sundance Channel. He has over 15 feature credits, including Aloha Surf Hotel, My Last Day Without You, and Arranged. His documentary on Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin, Even Though the Whole World Is Burning, aired nationally on PBS. In television, Schaefer has developed and sold series to major studios including Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Television, AMC, The Weinstein Company, Big Beach, and Mandeville.
Head of Programming
Barry Wurst II is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society and a film instructor at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College. He writes film reviews for The Maui News, Maui Pulse, Hollywood in Toto, and ScreenGeeks.com, and has been published in Bright Lights Film Journal. Barry is the former co-host of Akakū’s long-running program What’s Going On and spent fifteen years as a film critic for Maui Time Weekly. He holds an MA from the University of Denver and grew up in Makawao, where he still resides.
Director of Communications & Media
Amber Bobin is a Maui-based media strategist with over two decades of experience spanning film production, talent representation, and global advocacy. She has worked on over twenty-five films and represented dozens of Hollywood actors, managing campaigns that connect stories to audiences worldwide. Her work spans human rights, education, and social impact initiatives, building cross-cultural collaboration and amplifying voices through media and storytelling.
Director of Marketing
Keely Badger is an international human rights attorney and impact media executive with nearly two decades of experience elevating award-winning films and festivals. She founded 360 MEDIA in 2015, a woman-led agency advancing social and environmental justice through the power of film. Keely has spearheaded major campaigns for The Sundance Institute, The Redford Center, Human Rights Watch, KPJR Films, and more than 50 award-winning independent films. Her work amplifies underrepresented voices and leverages media as a catalyst for community power and systemic change.
Festival Media Manager
A Maui-born filmmaker and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Digital Cinema graduate whose work spans feature films, television, and education. Josiah has worked in technical camera roles across six feature films and currently serves as an adjunct instructor at UH Mānoa, mentoring the next generation of filmmakers. Through his work as a writer, director, cinematographer, and editor, he is dedicated to sharing Hawaiʻi’s culture and stories through cinema.
Festival Experiential Lead
A Maui-raised artist and student at Columbia University studying Art History and Visual Arts. Her work is shaped by a deep connection to Hawaiʻi and a passion for film, photography, and contemporary media as tools for storytelling, cultural preservation, and community connection across diverse perspectives and experiences.
Entertainment Director
An award-winning Maui-born musician, actor, and entertainer whose career spans Broadway, film, television, and international touring. Eric has performed alongside artists including WIllie K, Mick Fleetwood, and Jamie Foxx, and is the creator of the acclaimed one-man show White Hawaiian and MELE, The Hawaiian Music Experience, now running at Maui Ocean Center’s Sphere Theater. Through music, theater, and immersive performance, he continues to elevate Hawaiʻi’s stories and creative communities on global stages.
Cultural Liaison
A Maui-based speaker, storyteller, and cultural strategist whose work bridges Native Hawaiian knowledge with contemporary innovation. As founder of The Moʻolelo Group and President of the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, Kainoa works across cultural advising, regenerative agriculture, media, and community leadership. His work helps organizations and audiences connect more deeply to culture, place, and purpose/
Festival Production Designer
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