Hawaii has long been a destination for film and television for decades, as “Hollywood’s Tropical Backlot” and due to the uniqueness of the islands there has been an interest to nurture the creative arts. What is the Creative Industries Division and what are its initiatives to promote the State’s economy? What is Hawaii Film Office’s role and how do tax incentives help bring films to the islands? What programs has the University of Hawaii launched to support Hawaii’s talent? What further infrastructure and programs does Hawaii need to support film, television, and other creative arts?

Georja Skinner is the Chief Officer of the State of Hawaii’s Creative Industries Division (CID), located in the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). She oversees initiatives and infrastructure development focused on building the foundation for Hawaii’s creative economy, in turn providing opportunities for local entrepreneurs. A seasoned producer and writer, Georja is the first female sound mixer in network prime-time television with an Emmy nomination and served as Maui’s Film Commissioner. She launched the Creative Lab Hawaii accelerator providing mentorship by Oscar and Emmy award winners to develop business opportunities for creative entrepreneurs.

Donne Dawson is Hawaii’s State Film Commissioner. She has spent nearly 20 years building Hawaii’s film industry while at the Hawaii Film Office by collaborating with the County Film Commissioners across the state. Donne and her staff serve as the first point of contact for all film production in Hawaii. They manage the state’s tax credit program and the consolidated film permitting program, and oversee management of the Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head. Previously, she worked as a journalist, producer and communications professional dedicated primarily to the promotion of film, the environment, Native Hawaiian issues, and community building.

Chris Lee is the Founder and Director of the Academy for Creative Media (ACM) System at the University of Hawaii, which supports 17 programs across UH’s 10 campuses ranging from traditional film and television to Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), video games, transmedia production, the Internet of Things, social media platforms, eSports, and smart phone apps. His team helped to produce an Hawaiian language version of Walt Disney’s Moana. Chris is also a motion picture and television producer, studio executive, media consultant, and venture capital entrepreneur.