Our Team

Productions & Filmmaker Mentor/Instructor

Aleta Hammerich

Aleta Hammerich is a third year student studying digital cinema and political science at UH Mānoa. She has experience with cinematography and editing working on The Lili'u Project documentary (in production),  Reel Wāhine of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa Film & Media projects, Better Tomorrow Speaker Series interviews, among many more. Aleta is passionate about using filmmaking as a platform for advocacy and is inspired by the participants' work each year.

Social Worker

Alexa St. Martin

Alexa St. Martin, MSW is a social worker, therapist, educator, researcher, musician, dancer, and writer. She is a fierce advocate for social justice education, with a particular passion for adolescent sexual health, school-based sexual health education, reproductive rights, and consent. 

Productions

Inez Anderson

Inez Anderson has been making films with Hawaii Women in Filmmaking since 2017, participating in multiple filmmaking programs as well as working on the HWF team as a filmmaking mentor. Committed to HWF's message of gender justice in filmmaking, their work has covered a variety of social justice issues, including body positivity, gun control, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth.

Filmmaker Mentor

Jessi Wong

Jessi is currently studying at the University of Hawaii - West Oahu, majoring in creative media. They’ve participated and worked in HWF’s programs for about a year and are committed to HWF’s mission. They are passionate about LGBTQ+ and disability issues and seek to advocate for those communities.

Filmmaker Mentor

Martha Nicholas

Martha Nicholas is a filmmaker who was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Alongside interning for Reel Wāhine she is also a previous Wāhine Lab Fellow and a current filmmaking mentor. Nicholas is double majoring in Creative Media and American Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, where she continues to explore the multiple avenues of the film industry.

Social Worker

M. Kaleipumehana Cabral

M. Kaleipumehana Cabral (Pumehana) identifies as a queer Kanaka and child of the diaspora. They were born in Honolulu and raised between Hawaiʻi and the continental United States. As an MSW (Master of Social Work) and proud Kanaka ʻŌiwi, their life centers around social justice & community building – specifically with other māhū folks and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Pumehana believe that collaborative, creative work is pivotal to long-term social change in Hawaiʻi and beyond.

Productions

Keana Alea Nisbet

A graduate of the University of Hawaii’s at Manoa’s Academy for Creative Media, Keana is a cinematographer and filmmaker dedicated to telling diverse stories and exploring the human condition. Working both commercially and independently, she specializes in producing, cinematography, and colour grading. She is passionate about equality and aims to affect change through the creation of impactful, thought-provoking social commentary films.

Social Worker

Katie Young-Caldwell

Katie Young-Caldwell is a social worker, writer, teacher, and activist. She has worked with women and girls for over two decades and specializes in gender violence. She teaches women's studies and social work at UH Mānoa and Hawai'i Community College. Katie is an intersectional feminist and works as a social worker for Hawai'i Women in Filmmaking. She loves cats, pizza, and running.

Productions

Malia Adams

Malia Adams, born in Kailua and raised in
Chile, is an indigenous filmmaker. Malia earned a Bachelor’s degree at UH Manoa in Creative
Media. She spent this last year living in Spain, where she pursued a Master’s degree in Media and Literary translation at the Pompeu Fabra University. Her short film, I Will Be Your Breath, was nominated Best Hawaii Made (2021) at the Hawaiʻi International Film Fest and won Best Experimental at Cannes Short Film festival
(2021).

Founder and Executive Director

Vera Zambonelli

For over 10 years, Vera has been advocating for gender justice in filmmaking through an intersectional lens. Vera founded Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking in 2011 to provide a space for wāhine filmmakers to connect, collaborate, and support each other. In 2017, Vera launched the production of Reel Wāhine of Hawai‘i, a short doc film series that redresses gender inequity in the film industry by documenting the real-life stories of Hawai‘i women filmmakers.