Beyond Paradise

Plot

The film is a semi-autobiographical tale of Cunningham's years in Hawaii. He leaves Los Angeles and moves with his mother to the Big Island and befriends three "locals", Ronnie, Zulu and Keao. At the same time, he is bullied and harassed for being a "haole" or foreigner.

The three lead characters were inspired by Cunningham's real life high school friends, as seen in the ending credits. The film is dedicated to Donald Boy (Ronnie), Zulu (Zulu), while Keao was a composite of two friends combining the humor of one friend and the drug element of another into one character.

Production

Under the working title of "Kama'aina", the movie was filmed with a modest budget from December 26, 1996 to February 5, 1997.

Release and reshooting

The movie premiered at the Honolulu International Film Festival in November 1997.

After a few screenings in L.A., Cunningham shot some additional footage, including scenes involving Mark's father and his friends in L.A. The film had a limited theatrical release in 1999. It did well at the box office in Hawaii; according to Variety, it beat The Matrix in ticket sales in Hawaii.

The DVD did not come out until 2003; it does not include the scenes that were added for the 1999 release. The DVD lacks extras and commentaries, but includes the theatrical trailer.