I may have mentioned a few times that I live in Hawaii, so I was excited to come across the post-apocalyptic short film Once Was Paradise by Rising Sons Productions.  It was shot here in the islands won first place in the recent March 2011 Showdown In Chinatown 21 Day Film Challenge. 

The were given topic (Empowered or Powerless – What if Hawaii ran out of gas?), props (roller skates & a blender), and a line of dialog (“Throw me the rope”), and what they came up with is a pretty cool story. 

I only recognized a few of the locations they used, but I liked how they were able to pick spots that really had a great post-apocalyptic look to them.  And the inclusion of native-Hawaiian weapons (the clubs edged with shark teeth) was great. All in all, it’s a cool film, and I hope they come back to the same setting in future works.