Private Project

The Mainland

The Mainland follows aspiring actor, Ikaika, struggling with the trend and politics of diversity in Hollywood when his small town cousin, Kekoa, unexpectedly visits from Hawai'i, bringing him a much needed dose of 'ohana and aloha.

  • Conrad Lihilihi
    Director
  • Nathaniel Elegino
    Cinematographer
  • Conrad Lihilihi
    Writer
  • Brandon Finn
    Key Cast
    "Ikaika"
  • Rian Basilio
    Key Cast
    "Kekoa"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    18 minutes 1 second
  • Completion Date:
    December 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Los Angeles Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    October 1, 2020
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Hawai'i International Film Festival
Director Biography - Conrad Lihilihi

Conrad Lihilihi is a Kanaka Maoli filmmaker, nocturnal ukulele player, and first team left over eater. He attended the University of Washington where he created his own major, Ethnic Identities in Film and after a quick corporate stint at Microsoft, in the summer of 2008, Conrad left rainy Seattle and moved to smoggy Los Angeles where he began work in production and post.

As a writer/director, Conrad’s sci-fi thriller short, The Device (2013) was a semi-finalist at NBCUniversal’s Short Cuts Film Festival and was picked up for broadcast on Robert Rodriguez’ El Rey Network. His horror short, Happy Birthday Claire (2016), was also picked up by El Rey Network and screened at historic Hawai’i Theater. His recent Smithsonian docuseries, Language of a Nation (2020) , details the rise and fall of the Hawaiian Kingdom as told through the newly rediscovered and translated Hawaiian language newspapers. The docuseries is currently being used in school curriculum at the high school and university levels in Hawai'i and is being recut into a feature film. His most recent comedy short, The Mainland is beginning its festival run and is about an aspiring actor from Hawai'i navigating the culture politics of Hollywood. Conrad also writes/shoots sketch comedy under his Tuntadun Films youtube channel and his goal is to tell real stories of Hawai'i and her people to the world.

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Director Statement

The Mainland was truly a labor of love as it was filmed for $300 with a 3 man crew with even the actors lending helping hands where they could. It's a personal story exploring the issues of being a minority amongst minorities in an industry where "representation" can sometimes seem more like a marketing trend than a mission. The idea of diversity is different from the execution of it, and through satire, The Mainland plays with that fine line and offers the idea that your "Mainland" is, is just a state of mind. But If I'm truly honest, this is the story of how I transitioned from acting to directing as every one of the auditions portrayed in this film is based on actual auditions that I've been on. The Mainland is a film that inspires those from underrepresented communities to follow their dreams, never forget who they are, and that our "Mainland" is where our loved ones are.