Short Film 'Profs' Premieres Oct. 30 With Focus on Hawaiian Higher Ed

Nancie Caraway will co-direct a short film exploring academic culture and post-colonial responsibility, with its world premiere scheduled for Oct. 30 at the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival. The screening marks the debut of "Profs," a project Caraway has described as a love letter to the University of Hawaiʻi.

The film was developed by Caraway, a former UH Mānoa professor and the First Lady of the State of Hawaiʻi, alongside filmmaker Jess Cole. The two have been close friends for nearly their entire lives, a bond Cole noted has always been defined by passion and resilience.

"He's always been part of my life. Always a fighter. Always passionate about something," Cole told HPR. She said the project stood out to her because it was simple yet authentic, capturing a personal story from Caraway's own history.

Caraway, who identifies as a "recovering professor," conceived the idea based on the challenges she faced in academia. She described the process as exploring both the trying and trivial debates she witnessed while working in the field.

"I have been in the trenches of some of these debates, and I thought it would be wonderful to explore in a small film," Caraway said. She aimed to include snippets of truth and satire to allow audiences to perceive the emotional and political stakes involved in university life.

The narrative follows two characters: a retiring professor and a rebellious student. Both figures must reckon with their responsibilities as outsiders on a university located on land that is not theirs to claim. Caraway explained that the film addresses the specific context of Hawaiʻi as a post-colonial society.

"We know where that comes from in a post-colonial society like Hawaiʻi, and we need to represent that, and we need to see how we go forward," Caraway said. "Profs" will screen at Consolidated Theatres Kahala and Consolidated Kapolei as part of HIFF46.