JUDGES PANEL

FOUNDER & JUDGE

Feature film director, Etienne started his career shooting surf on the North Shore of Oahu. His passion grew from home video surf edits to award-winning clips and now writing, producing, directing, and editing his critically acclaimed first feature film, KAPŌ, and now finished his second, Pe’ahi. Etienne's love for filmmaking has now led him to found the first-ever North Shore International Film Festival.

JUDGE

Known for his prowess in water sports and winning eight world championships, Kai holds top awards and honors in surf, hydrofoil, kite, standup paddle, tow-in, windsurf, prone-paddle, outrigger-canoe, and big wave. He is also a lead actor, writer, and producer of the feature film, Pe’ahi and has been active in the film industry since eight-years-old.

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Homegrown on the North Shore of Oahu, Makua is a big wave surfer that has inspired the world with his championships and titles such as being the 2015 WSL Big Wave World Champion and Billabong XXL Ride of the Year Winner at the age of eighteen. He is also active in film as a SAG-AFTRA actor since 1998 and a co-producer on the feature film Pe’ahi.

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Maui native Ian Walsh is an accomplished filmmaker and surfer. He first surfed the legendary Jaws when he was just 16 and at age 19, he was runner up at the Billabong XXL Awards. Walsh is known for being a freesurfer, who finds most epic waves at the right time, riding everything from Jaws, to maxed-out Teahupo'o and the coast of West Africa. Also a philanthropist, in 2003, he launched the Ian Walsh Menehune Mayhem Surf Event, a youth surf contest that honours the up-and-coming surf talent in Maui, as well as their academic achievements.

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Cayla is a four-time national surf champion and driven Native Hawaiian female business owner. Also known as Miss North Shore USA, she pours her heart into the things she is passionate about. She designs original artwork inspired by Hawaiian aesthetics and creates products rooted in sustainability. A strong advocate for ocean conservation and protection who hosts cleanups with Caylas Cleanups around the world.

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Monte's experience spans law, finance, management and investment. He founded StepStone Group (Nasdaq: STEP), was the company's CEO for approximately 15 years, and is currently the Executive Chairman. StepStone is one of the largest private investment firms in the world. Monte lives on the North Shore of Hawaii and is committed to supporting Hawaiian causes and talent. He has recently taken his love for Hawaiian and surfing culture to support the surf world and local filmmakers by producing the local feature film Pe'ahi as well as KAPŌ.

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A Japanese Champion Longboarder, living in Malibu CA. Filmmaker of the critically claimed documentary film on surfing’s divine prince of decadence Bunker Spreckels “BUNKER77” (2017).

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Kimi won the United States National Spearfishing Champion in 2008 and the International Pacific Cup in 2012. She is a certified culinary chef, an award-winning artist, and a sought-after speaker. Kimi has been a filmmaker since 2017 and also trained the cast of Pe’ahi in shark safety when shooting free diving and training scenes.

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Johnny Decesare from Hermosa Beach California is the Founder of Poor Boyz Productions. He is a multi-award-winning Director and Producer with over 20 titles to his name. A longtime producer for Red Bull Media House he has created or produced iconic productions including Who Is Job, Kai Lenny’s Paradigm Lost, Robby Naish’s Longest Wave, Momentum Series - Sheckler, Pastrana, Bonifey, Talauega Brothers, and Oahu’s Zak Noyle. He is currently the lead action cinematographer for the World Surf League and a host of commercial projects ranging from Range Rover to Body Amor.

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Nainoa is a pioneer of an entirely new genre of filmmaking he calls, “Travel Verte” in which individuals document and share their stories in real-time exploring the furthest corners of the earth and sharing them on social media. He is an Emmy Award Nominated filmmaker and has headed companies such as Beautiful Destinations.

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Born and raised on the North Shore of O’ahu, Kiele is a founding member of the Turtle Bay Foundation. She also is the Vice President of Friends of Sunset Beach, a nonprofit dedicated to providing North Shore keiki with free art education and access to the arts. Her powerful understanding of relationships between industry and the local communities in which they operate helps her serve the people.

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Jana is an award-winning TV/Film producer and actress (SAG-AFTRA) who grew up on Molokai and Oahu. As a freelance filmmaker specializing in story producing, locations, casting, and production management, she strives to support projects that share under-represented perspectives - particularly those that are female, Indigenous, Asian, disabled, and LGBTQ. She also serves as the Executive Director of Hawai’i Filmmakers Collective, a 501c3 non-profit organization that supports local filmmakers and content creators. Jana has run the HFC 48-Hour Film Challenge for over six years and in 2022 added a 72-hour challenge - combined, the events lead to the creation of over 100 Hawai'i-made short films.

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“Kama Dung", is an American, right-handed softball pitcher, model, actress, and philanthropist from Waianae, Hawaii. She is a gold medalist and is known as the first professional softball pitcher from Hawaii.

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Amir wrote, produced, directed, and edited the documentary, 50 Minutes to Save The World garnering over 15 million views to save the ocean’s reef. He is famous for pioneering the POV (point of view) filmmaking style which takes the audience through the world from the filmmaker’s own unique perspective.

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Mason Rose is an Australian born director and photographer based between Hawaii, LA and Byron Bay. He has directed and produced everything from TV shows, commercials, music videos, print media, fashion campaigns and event production. Having spent a decade as a professional wave rider prior to picking up a camera, Mason’s work is heavily influenced by the natural elements of the earth and pushed by the desire to highlight that which is often overlooked. At the core of everything he does stands the motto “find the beauty in everything.” He is also the co-founder of ARVO cafe, a DJ, and proud father of two.

Donovan brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the hospitality industry. He served as managing director at The Resort at Pelican Hill, located in Newport Coast, California where he helped to take the resort through a substantial renovation while continuing to grow revenue significantly. He served in the same role for the Grand Wailea Maui, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. Previous to this, Donovan was vice president and general manager for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Kapalua, also on Maui. While at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Mr. Donovan helped to spearhead the renowned Celebration of the Arts, which was honored with the cherished Kahili Award of Excellence presented by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

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Angelina Decesare is a diverse 14-year-old who was born in Medellin, Colombia before moving to Hermosa Beach, California in her early childhood. Angelina has become an incredible actress with many national spots including Walmart, Subaru, Lay’s, Universal Studios, Lowes, and many more. She is also a professional surfer representing Colombia as their 2x under 18 National Champion.

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Lance Arinaga is a photographer/videographer from Hawaii. His career started by learning his skills traveling the world making surf videos in 2005. He created two films entitled “Icons and Icons 2” which got local and international coverage with magazine covers and editorials in Hawaii, California and Japan. His video work has been used in everything from the web to tv. From there we went on to start a publication called “Contrast Magazine” which focused on the Hawaii Art, music, surf and skate scene along with international talents where he served as photo editor for 10 years. Lance has had over 200 editorial and advertisement photos used as well as over 100 published articles written for Contrast and the Star-advertiser newspaper where he served as a sports reporter and photographer. Currently he is a freelance photographer and still supporting the local Hawaii creative community.