In a scene from The Arrangements, a group of friends find a small box of coins while swimming by a waterfall in Nuʻuanu. They embark on a journey of gifting their treasure to their friend who died as they plan for his funeral.
"It was the boy's treasure that he hid before he passed away," Peter Alifios said in an interview. He's of Chuukese descent and is one of the film's main characters. "We had to find a memory of him and put it in this casket before he go."
Set in a tough Kalihi neighborhood, The Arrangements tells the story of 12-year-old Micronesian boys living at Kamehameha IV housing apartments who cope with loss through adventure and resilience.
Premiering on Nov. 13, The Arrangements stars an all-local cast, including experienced Chuukese actor Kathy S. Martin, who starred in the local play Nothing Micro About Micronesia. The kids acting in the film are Billy and Peter Alifios, Erika Essa, Dianson Kasty, Ambu Rodrigo, and Rev Victor.
Origin of the film
The story is based on the children's true story. Peter Alifios, 12, said his friend died by suicide in the KAM IV housing – two years before the film was made.
Sonny Ganaden, director and writer, has known the kids for nearly five years when he worked at the nonprofit Kōkua Kalihi Valley. He said he witnessed what they had to go through, from getting custom T-shirts to picking flowers for the funeral. He also saw how the kids had to interpret for their mother or grandparents with the funeral director.
"This is something that immigrant kids have to do if their parents aren't native English speakers, and I saw the work they had to do while they were grieving," Ganaden said.
More than 18,000 Micronesians live in Hawai'i, including residents from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. They can migrate visa-free to the country for education, jobs, and health care because their Pacific nations share treaties with the U.S. called the Compacts of Free Association.
Kalihi, located on the edge of urban Honolulu, is home to diverse cultural groups – including Filipinos and Pacific Islanders – and has a high number of low-income immigrants.
Ganaden said the kids have to grow up faster than most children. Some of the kids were raised in single-parent homes. Another kid sleeps mostly at his friend's house. This year, another kid's older brother was shot while on a city bus in Kalihi.
Peter's younger brother, Billy Alifios, said growing up in his neighborhood is fun but tough.
"The older boys tell us to go in (the house) because they're protective of us," he said.
Despite the challenges they face, Ganaden wants to show the children's humanity and resilience in the short film — something he said is their reality.
"When you're 12, even if something bad happens, you don't live your life as a tragedy," he said. "There's an adventure to be had, there's things to do, and life propels itself forward. So we tried to write a script that reflected that experience."
Highlighting resilience
The kids are first-time actors and took weekly acting classes this past summer.
Billy Alifios played the comedic relief and even got to work with a trained rooster named Wowo Fat Ching, raised by local artist Kahi Ching. Alifios said he enjoyed the acting classes.
"I was kind of nervous, but I got used to it because I kept learning," he said.
He recalled his favorite scene in the film when the kids outsmarted a cop while they hid the treasure.
"It was when my cousins and brother were distracting the cop because they're so funny," he said. "I think people will find it funny, too."
He said this just outside the home where his friend died. Even though he is only 11, Alifios said he lost many friends over the years, something that he and his friends are numb to.
The film took less than a year to make and was funded by up to $10,000 from Pacific Islanders in Communications and ʻOhina Labs.
Ganaden said the boys surprised him in scenes where Billy adlibbed and Erika Essa naturally side-eyed her brother in the film.
Ganaden anticipates that the short film will make people laugh and cry. He underscored that he doesn't want people to feel sorry for the kids but to see them as human.
He said the kids deserve a film about them.
"The kids deserved it. The kids who passed, they deserved it," Ganaden said. "I felt like it was an important story to tell about life and loss and moving forward. Even though it's a short film, I tried to show that these kids are tough, strong, funny and human."
The kids said they want to be on screen more and hope it will inspire more Micronesians to get into film.
"I just hope we'll get out of that hood and start living life," Peter Alifios said.
The Arrangements premieres on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at Ward Village. For more information on the film, click here.
If you or someone you know is seeking help with a crisis or thoughts of suicide, you can call 988 to receive free support services from Hawaiʻi Cares 988.
