they nourish soil, feed creatures big and small, recycle food scraps,
helps things to grow.
We are a film and new media production company with a focus on nature-centered narratives that empower communities of color to embrace new solutions to climate change, diversity and equity issues.
Based in Los Angeles and Honolulu, Worm Media Productions is an independent studio that crafts stories about native wildlife and landscapes and their conservation through an artistic, conceptual approach. We embrace non-extractive storytelling that is grounded in humanity and care for our collaborators and crew, as well as the environment and places in which we are inhabiting and representing. Our projects push boundaries beyond traditional film and TV, experimenting in emerging forms such as mixed reality, multimedia installation and interactive, immersive story worlds.
Laurie Sumiye is a contemporary artist, animator and filmmaker whose work about Hawaiian endangered species explores the interconnectedness of nature, place, and humans through her cross-disciplinary practice. She has exhibited her art in New York, Los Angeles, UK, Brazil and South Africa, and screened her films at DOC NYC, BAMcinemaFest and PS1 MoMA. Laurie was selected as an Artist-in-Residence at Blue Mountain Center (NY) and received its 2021 Harriet Barlow Commons Residency Award, Digital Artist Studios (N. Ireland), Sacatar Institute (Brazil), Artfunkl (UK) and Bishop Museum (Hawaii). She was awarded filmmaking fellowships with Sundance Institute, Firelight Media, Jackson Wild & UnionDocs Center for Documentary Arts. Laurie received an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from CUNY Hunter College, BA in Art & BS in Communications from Bradley University, and studied art at Instituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence and Pratt Institute in New York. She served as Assistant Professor of Film/Transmedia at University of Hawaii-West Oahu. A PARADISE LOST is her first feature, and awarded funding from Pacific Islanders in Communications and Firelight Media, and selected for Good Pitch Local Hawaii.
Tori graduated from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada with a BA in Environment & Sustainability. Tori has worked with several non-profit organizations both locally and internationally, assisting and advocating for wildlife conservation and social justice. During her time in the nonprofit world, she directed and produced a short documentary that captured mental health programs for youth at secondary schools and universities. Wanting to take her passion for protecting Hawaii’s environment to the next level, she focused her talents on co-producing A PARADISE LOST and MAKANA O KE MELE.
Worm Media Productions engages and coordinates with an array of clientele, ranging from local to international film & TV productions in all aspects of planning, writing, editing, animation, production and post-production. We primarily work with an experienced Hawaii-based crew, and are familiar with natural locations, local culture and sensitive filming requirements here in the islands. Our animation capabilities cover 2D & 3D concept art, storyboarding and preproduction.
Our filmmaking ethos is influenced by Hawaiian values of malama ʻāina (caring for the land and people for future generations), aloha ʻāina (“if you take care of the land, it will take care of you”) and kuleana (a reciprocal relationship of responsibility). As a company, we put “aloha first” to establish care and love in creating a safe environment for talent and crew. We value ethical, non-extractive collaborative filmmaking, working closely with the communities in our stories. We prioritize underrepresented perspectives by bridging the diversity gap by hiring women, emerging BIPOC and LGBTQ+ talent.
We would like to acknowledge that the ‘āina on which we gather is part of the larger territory recognized by Indigenous Hawaiians as their ancestral grandmother, Papahānaumoku and Tongva people. We recognize that each moment we are in Hawai‘i and California she nourishes and gifts us the opportunity to breathe her air, eat from her soils, drink from her waters, bathe in her sun, swim in her oceans, be kissed by her rains, and be embraced by her winds. We further recognize that generations of Indigenous Hawaiians and Tongva and their knowledge systems shaped their homes in sustainable ways that allow us to enjoy these gifts today. For this we are grateful and as a settler, we seek to support the varied strategies that the Indigenous peoples of the world are using to protect their land and their communities, and we commit to dedicating time and resources to working in solidarity. Mahalo.
Source: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/nhpol/auamo/
Like a magic seed, life grows into something extraordinary, beyond imagination, into dreams.