IM/PERFECTION ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT
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LOGLINE
A Hawaii architect is one of the last remaining designers to create hand-drawn renderings, dedicating his life to the craft and pursuit of perfection.
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Immigrating from Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961, Hitoshi Hida struggled to learn English as he excelled in math and painting during high school. Abandoning his desire to be an artist, Hida pursued architecture finding a creative outlet in hand-rendering for nearly 40 years. In a digital world, Hida, 72, is one of the last remaining designers to create hand-drawn architectural renderings in Hawaii.
LONG SYNOPSIS
Immigrating from Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961, Hitoshi Hida struggled to learn English as he excelled in math and painting during high school. Abandoning his desire to be an artist, Hida pursued a career in architecture. With the advent of three-dimensional renderings, Hida, 72, is one of only a handful of designers in Hawaii who still creates architectural renderings at a drafting table using color pencils, erasers, and rulers. Over the course of nearly 40 years, he has created thousands of hand-drawn architectural renderings, dedicating his life to the craft and pursuit of perfection.
FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2017
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2017
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA USA, 2017
Waimea Ocean Film Festival, Waimea, HI USA, 2017
Hawaii International Film Festival, Honolulu, HI USA, 2016, *World Premiere
WORLD PREMIERE
Hawaii International Film Festival, Honolulu, HI USA, 2016
ACCOLADES
Best Documentary Short, Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2017
Best Film Short, Waimea Ocean Film Festival, Waimea, HI, USA, 2017
FESTIVAL SPECIFICATIONS
Original Title: Im/Perfection
Original Language of Film: English
Film Type: Non-fiction, Short Film
Genre: Documentary, Art
Total Runtime: 12 Minutes
Camera: Sony FS5, Canon C100
Image Format: 16:9 / 1.85, HD, Color
Sound Format: Dolby 5.1
Completed: 2016
Country of Production: USA
DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY (LONG)
Andrew Hida is an award-winning filmmaker and video producer based out of San Francisco, California. He firmly believes in the power of non-fiction visual storytelling to create powerful, compelling, and beautiful stories about the human experience. Hida’s background in journalism shapes his approach to crafting story structures and sophisticated narratives. This is complimented by his distinct cinematic visual aesthetic and unique editing style that has come to define his work.
Hida’s work includes branded content, journalism, and documentary film, most notably, Follow My Steps (2013), a short film recognized with high honors by the National Press Photographers Association and the Kathrine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability, as well as The Fence (2014), a short film recognized by the World Press Photo Foundation.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Japanese and Chinese immigrant parents, Hida grew up with a uniquely diverse background. In a previous career, he worked as a conservation ecologist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Hida completed his Master’s in Photography at Syracuse University in 2012.
DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY (SHORT)
Andrew Hida is an award-winning filmmaker and video producer based out of San Francisco, California. He was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Japanese and Chinese immigrant parents. With a background in journalism, Hida firmly believes in the power of non-fiction visual storytelling to create powerful, compelling, and beautiful stories about the human experience. His work includes branded content, journalism, and documentary film, most notably, Follow My Steps, a short film recognized with high honors by the National Press Photographers Association and the Kathrine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability, as well as The Fence, a short film recognized by the World Press Photo Foundation.
DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER
Andrew Hida
andrew@andrewhida.com
+1 (206) 290-8069
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
My father, Hitoshi Hida, 72, is an architectural designer and one of only a handful of people who still creates architectural renderings at a drafting table using color pencils, erasers, and rulers. With the advent of three-dimensional renderings, his craft is quickly disappearing in our increasingly digital world. Though he officially retired at the end of 2015 after a nearly 40-year career, he still continues to work freelance to practice and hone his craft.
As a child, I grew up in my dad’s office where both him and my mother worked into the night. I remember figuring out my math homework in the conference room while trying to sing song lyrics with my sister. I remember drawings rolled up into tubes tucked into corners of our house and in the back of closets. But what I don’t remember is watching my dad create any of these drawings.
Through this project, I was finally able to see my dad in his element. His movements are fluid and elegant–erasing a line, brushing away shavings and re-drawing that same line with precision. His eyes rarely leave the paper. His hand barely keeps up with his imagination, consumed with birds singing, children laughing, and water splashing. It’s like watching a choreographed dance that constantly changes and evolves.
My dad’s choice to pursue a career in architecture was one of pragmatism, leading to a successful career that spanned nearly four decades. Abandoning his dream to be a painter laid the foundation for my sister and I to pursue dreams and opportunities otherwise unavailable to him. Although not entirely unique to the immigrant experience in America, my dad’s story has never been shared with me in such honest and frank terms until now.
Im/Perfection honors my mother and father’s sacrifices. It traces my own history through my father’s life. It explores the beauty of my father’s craft. It mimics his pursuit of perfection. And it represents a window into his world through which he opened the opportunity for me to chase my dreams.
CREDITS
Original Music: Duncan Blickenstaff
Musicians: Mark Robertson, Josefina Vergara, Luke Maurer, Cameron Stone
Re-Recording and Score Mixer: Satoshi Noguchi
Mix Assistant: Colleen Lutz
Sound Designer: Sarah Brady Voll
Colorist: Michael Curry
Archival Photography: Hida Family, Group 70 International
Directed and Produced by: Andrew Hida
Featuring: Hitoshi Hida
Cinematography: Andrew Hida, Jessey Dearing
Editor: Andrew Hida
Animation: Drew Jordan
Illustrations: Hitoshi Hida
Associate Producer: Jennifer Moncayo
HIGH RES PHOTOGRAPHS
WEB FILE SPECS
- Dimensions: 3000 x 2000 px
- Resolution: 72 dpi
- Color Space: sRGB
- Download all high-res WEB files
PRINT FILE SPECS
- Dimensions: 4500 x 3000 px
- Resolution: 240 dpi
- Color Space: Adobe RGB
- Download all high-res PRINT files
Children play and laugh in the open courtyard at Central Union Preschool in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hitoshi Hida created this architectural rendering for Group 70 International to depict the proposed re-design of the administration building and classrooms, inspired by Hawaii's historic plantation-style housing.
Built in 2000, the Institute for Biogenesis Research on the campus of the University of Hawaii was a collaboration between architectural designer Hitoshi Hida and the founding director, Dr. Ryuzo Yanagimachi a leader in the field of cloning. Hida's rendering depicts the continuity of indoor and outdoor space, a defining trait in Hawaii architecture.
In 2013 a new city was proposed on Belitung–an island off the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Although never built, this rendering illustrates the city's neighborhoods, open space and coastline. Stretching nearly two meters in width, Hitoshi Hida created this tedious drawing by hand over the course of three weeks for Group 70 International.
For nearly 40 years, Hitoshi Hida has sat at a drafting table using colored pencils, erasers and a pencil sharpener to create architectural renderings. He moves fluidly through the drawing, the tip of his pencil effortlessly crafting scenes of human interaction and joyful conversations enveloped in Hawaii's tropical environment. Despite retiring in 2015, he continues to draw, perfecting his craft with every stroke.
For nearly 40 years, Hitoshi Hida has sat at a drafting table using colored pencils, erasers and a pencil sharpener to create architectural renderings. He moves fluidly through the drawing, the tip of his pencil effortlessly crafting scenes of human interaction and joyful conversations enveloped in Hawaii's tropical environment. Despite retiring in 2015, he continues to draw, perfecting his craft with every stroke.
For nearly 40 years, Hitoshi Hida has sat at a drafting table using colored pencils, erasers and a pencil sharpener to create architectural renderings. He moves fluidly through the drawing, the tip of his pencil effortlessly crafting scenes of human interaction and joyful conversations enveloped in Hawaii's tropical environment. Despite retiring in 2015, he continues to draw, perfecting his craft with every stroke.
OFFICIAL POSTER
- Dimensions: 6480 x 9840 px (27 x 41 inches)
- Resolution: 240 dpi
- Color Space: Adobe RGB
- File size: 17.3 MB