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‘Uber talented’ Maui filmmaker enjoys sweet success in international contest

Alimbuyuguen, 20, earned the top prize for his documentary short on Wailuku’s Donut Dynamite!

By Leah Sherman 4 min read

A young Maui filmmaker's short film on a Wailuku doughnut shop has been named the best documentary in the 2017 My RODE Reel Film Competition.

The win by Austin Alimbuyuguen, 20, of Wailuku was announced July 28, with his documentary "Donut Dynamite!" besting 16 other finalists in the international contest run by RODE Microphones of Sydney. His prize includes camera equipment.

"It means a lot to me to win a big contest like this," Alimbuyuguen said via email. "This was my first time ever winning something that was international. It really encourages me to shoot and grow more as a filmmaker."

The film, which is 2 minutes, 39 seconds long, features the preparation of doughnuts and commentary from Madame Donut (her legal name), who co-owns Donut Dynamite with her husband, Frank Parada.

To enter the My RODE Reel contest, original short films must be between 60 seconds and 3 minutes long. Also required is a supplementary, behind-the-scenes component of 3 minutes maximum that shows a RODE product being used in the production, according to rules published on the RODE website.

"We used the Canon C500 as well as a few DSLRs (digital single-lens reflex cameras)" to shoot the film, Alimbuyuguen said. "We also used RODE microphones to capture audio."

Filming occurred earlier this year over three days, and the sound design and editing of the film took about two weeks, he said.

Alimbuyuguen said he developed his filmmaking skills as a student in Maui High School's ACOM (Arts and Communications) pathway by taking four years of digital media.

"I would watch a lot of analytical videos about film and video, and also observe other people's work while I was in high school," he said. "I learned the basics and applied what I observed through Mr. (Clint) Gima's digital media classes as well as Mr. (Keith) Imada's IET (Industrial Engineering Technology) classes, since they both had camera equipment available for student use."

Alimbuyuguen received assistance in creating the film from Maui resident Brad Starks, who served as a camera operator and producer and hosted the behind-the-scenes video.

"He is . . . the person who helped me get into the film industry," Alimbuyuguen said of Starks, "so I am very grateful for him."

Starks is also a longtime fan of Donut Dynamite, and introduced Alimbuyuguen to Madame Donut and Parada.

"Brad told me about their shop, Donut Dynamite, and contacted Madame Donut about doing the video," Alimbuyuguen said. "We chose her for the video because she was a vibrant person and had an interesting story to share."

In the film, Madame Donut describes a typical day at the Wailuku bakery, which opened Aug. 21, 2016, on Lower Main Street. She discusses why she chose to focus on doughnuts, saying, "I think doughnuts are very humble and also they're the underdog of the pastry world."

"I really wanted the audience to be hungry for the doughnut," Alimbuyuguen said. "So, I wanted to do a lot of close-ups of various ingredients being put together."

The final version of the film "definitely came out well, but I am still not at the level I want to be at," he said.

"I always pick apart at my videos and want to do better."

Madame Donut was less critical, calling Alimbuyuguen "uber talented."

"His work was so clean and professional and he was able to portray my personal sentiments through this short documentary film that I sometimes have a difficult time expressing," she said via email. "He gave me a voice I never heard myself speak with. What a gift!"

To view Alimbuyuguen's film, see www.rode.com/myrodereel/awards/documentary.

* Leah Sherman can be reached at lsherman@mauinews.com.

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