THE STORY

"Ethan lives separate lives as a socially awkward college student by day and a fearlessly glamorous drag queen by night. That is, until his life is turned upside-down by Kekoa, his school crush. As his two worlds collide, Ethan is forced to confront his fear of change in order to win the boy of his dreams."

THE WRITERS BEHIND THE STORY

Director and Co-writer Tony Dia Headshot

TONY DIA

Director, Writer

Tony Dia is a first gen Fil-Am whose goal is to shine a light on local POC as well as queer communities and stories through film. He hopes to serve as a platform to the underrepresented, colorful voices that he believes should be heard. He is a two-time Abernethy Screenwriting Award winner and SCA’s Best Live Action and Best Experimental Film recipient.

Co-writer and Producer Von Ka’anā’anā

VON Ka’anā’anā

Writer, Production Designer, Co-Producer

Von Ka’anā’anā is a Kānaka Maoli + Tangata Whenua O’ahu-born Māhū Drag Artist. He is the set designer of “The Party Monsters” cast performing every first Friday at Scarlet Honolulu. He is an advocate for radical social activism, indigenous freedom, and queer expression.

writer’s statement

Tony Dia and Von Kaanaana the writers of "I Am"

“We believe QTIBIPOC deserve happy endings. Our purpose behind the creation of this project was to uplift the talents, stories and spirits of the vibrant and diverse Queer community of Hawai’i. We as Māhū belong to a chosen family whose lineage trace back to ancient times- as such we want to remind the world of our ability to heal through story telling. We created a universe of Homonormativity where people can be themselves without cause or restraint. We wanted a story that is free from queer traumatic experience used as a vehicle for cishet entertainment- this is a film made by Queer people.”

WHAT IS “I AM”

I Am is a 2024 queer short film produced at the School of Cinematic Arts at UH Mānoa.

In 2023, the original screenplay written by Tony Dia won the Abernethy Screenwriting Award at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He was awarded $1000 to produce a short film.

It was re-written with Von Ka’anā’anā and adapted into the short film I Am (2024) the following year.