05/21/2025
CAFF Springfest 2025 Talk Story Panel: Culture and Animation
We’re proud to present a powerful and inspiring conversation on animation and culture, featuring three incredible creators who bring deep authenticity, storytelling, and artistic excellence to the world of cultural animation.
https://vimeo.com/1086538720
Sasha Hercik – �Sasha is a digital artist, animator, and illustrator raised on Maui since childhood. Her focuses include 2D animation and various types of character illustration with a strong emphasis on storytelling. She’s done work for companies like Hot Topic, Maui Public Art Corps, GoZen! Anxiety Relief for Children, among others, along with illustrating a New York Times bestseller. Her long-term goals include working on both animated feature films and shows, character animation for anime, and working with indie studios.
Film Screened_Hands of Stone
Keiki Kaʻōpua – is a Native Hawaiian artist, cultural and historical researcher, and Hawaiian-language instructor who brings authentic Indigenous stories to life through animation.
With over 30 years of expertise in genealogy and Hawaiian history, he weaves deep cultural knowledge into modern media. As founder of Hoʻoulu Hale Digital, Keiki advises on character design, language accuracy, and culturally respectful storytelling—ensuring every frame honors Hawaiian protocol.
For the past 16 years, he’s served as a Hawaiian Culture Specialist in the Hoʻokahua: Hawaiian Cultural Vibrancy Division at Kamehameha Schools. There, he teaches ʻŌlelo Kahua (foundation language) classes and creates short animations to support language learning. He’s also contracted to develop Hawaiian cultural videos for state child-support agencies and their partners, and served as a cultural advisor on the E Hoʻomau series and is also the Producer and Writer of the animated short film Ola Nā Iwi: Hāloa.
Film Screened_ Moʻolelo ‘Loleka‘a & Ka haʻaheo
Daniel A. Kelin II - is a theatre artist who lives in Hawaii and is the Director of Drama Education for the Honolulu Theatre of Youth. He has directed, acted in and written plays performed in Asia, the Pacific and all across the US. Dan recently received a local Pookela award for directing Kumu Kahua’s Moa a Mo’i. His play Sing a Porpoise Home received a staged reading at NYU and won the Aurand Harris Playwriting award of the New England Theatre Conference. He regularly tells as a part of the Talk Story Festival and has collected stories in the Marshall Islands, Samoa, and India. He has authored several books, which include, The Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collected Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Department, In Their Own Words: Drama with Young English Learners, and To Feel As Our Ancestors Did: Collecting and Performing Oral Histories.
Film Screened_When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again
Moderated by Twiddle Productions inc Producer/Director and CAFF co founder Michael Q. Ceballos
Special thanks to Dr. Mary Hattori and Tyrone Jacinto for video and audio.
CAFF Springfest 2025 Talk Story Panel: Culture and Animation We’re proud to present a powerful and inspiring conversation on animation and culture, featuring…
