Struggle for Existence

2010
Documentary Short
22;21

Struggle for Existence combines animation and graphics with documentary material to spin a compelling story of an endangered finch on the verge of extinction living in the Extinction Capital of the World — The Hawaiian Islands. The Palila is a native forest bird that lives on the slopes of Mauna Kea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawai`i, fewer than 1,100 survive in the wild. In 2025, five Palila finches remain, and a woman journeys to Hawai`i to see the last few birds. The film questions how life is valued and preserved by man as a species nears extinction, through looking at past and present conservation efforts. Struggle for Existence contemplates Darwin’s theory of natural selection, inevitability of death for all living things, and our human instinct to “save nature”.

Winner, Best Documentary CUNY Asian American Film Festival, Best Short Documentary, Student Category, American Conservation Film Festival. Screenings at Hawaii International Film Festival, DOCUtah, NY Asian American Film Festival.

A Paradise Lost

Of Memory & Los Sures

Struggle for Existence

Makana o ke Mele

Reel Wahine of Hawaii

The gold of a yellow plant