HOCCI's Sean Oketani sits down with Laurel Tamayo to discuss her short film, GEN Z MENTAL HEALTH: CLIMATE STORIES, which was a part of the official selection for HIFF43 in the Environmental Shorts Program. This podcast interview covers the topics highlighted in the documentary, opening up a larger discussion on the climate crisis and its effects on the collective mental health of a generation, and the market's need for impact producers in current documentary filmmaking.

For more information on this film, you can follow the production studio on Instagram @strandedastronaut or you can visit climatementalhealth.net/genzfilm

 The HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) supports sustainable film criticism in Hawai‘i through mentorship and paid career opportunities. The mission of HOCCI is to broaden diversity in film criticism across the Pacific region and use influencer branding strategies to spark career opportunities in Hawai’i, not be hampered by oceans, state borders and distance, because geography is no longer a barrier. The 2023 HOCCI is supported by Critical Minded, a grant-making and learning initiative that supports cultural critics of color in the United States.

Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) is the premiere cinematic event in the Pacific and annually attracts more than 50,000 film enthusiasts from around the state, the nation and throughout the world. Heralded as “one of the Top 50 Film Festivals around the world,” according to Variety, HIFF is an Academy AwardsⓇ qualifying film festival that is mission driven to entertain, enlighten and inspire through the medium of film and creative content from around the world with a special focus on Hawai‘i made and Pacific Islander films and filmmaking. For more info, visit www.hiff.org.

Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) is the premiere cinematic event in the Pacific and annually attracts more than 50,000 film enthusiasts from around the state, the nation and throughout the world. Heralded as “one of the Top 50 Film Festivals around the world,” according to Variety, HIFF is an Academy AwardsⓇ qualifying film festival that is mission driven to entertain, enlighten and inspire through the medium of film and creative content from around the world with a special focus on Hawai‘i made and Pacific Islander films and filmmaking. For more info, visit www.hiff.org.