The Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti has named the third cohort of its annual PEAK Writers Fellowship. This year’s cohort includes Kanani Koster, Erin Lau, Sean Oketani, Neil Tinkham and Pouariʻi Tanne. Supported by Netflix, the fellowship selects five up-and-coming writers whose work honors Pasifika (people of Pacific Islander descent) experiences, providing them with mentorship, professional development and networking opportunities as they continue to expand their professional television careers.
Founded by PEAK co-founder, director, screenwriter and showrunner Dana Ledoux Miller and co-managed by program manager and screenwriter Bryson Chun, the fellowship serves as the only Hollywood writing program created by a Pasifika storyteller. Also included in the fellowship are weekly panels and conversations with writers, showrunners, executives, representatives, actors and other industry professionals, offering insight on the entertainment industry. This year’s fellows will receive mentorship from Ryan Belezon and Jeffrey Gelber (“Boulevard”); Aminta Goyel (“Pivoting”); Lauren Thompson (“Ghostwriter”); and Michelle Giannusa (“Ripple”).
Koster is a native Hawaiian writer and director. Her work uses raunchy blue comedy to hide a desire to make a difference in this world. Kanani is a 2024 American Film Institute directing alum, 2024 ‘Ohina Lab Fellow and ‘23 Punky Aloha Scholar for Kanaka ‘Ōiwi and Pasifika Creatives.
Her work has been supported by the Tribeca Film Festival, Gotham’s Project Market, Visionary Justice Story Lab and the Alfred P. Her shorts have played at AFI Fest, SeriesFest, Hawai’i International Film Festival, and the Smithsonian Museum. The Native Hawaiian filmmaker explores empathy, redemption and legacy through her work.
She has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Studios, Film Independent, Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative and more. Her work spans narrative, documentary and episodic storytelling and has been featured on the Criterion Channel, Netflix and PBS.Lu’s most recent directing credit was for Fox’s action-packed procedural “Rescue: HI-Surf.” She is also currently a fellow in the 2026 ImagineNATIVE Screenwriting Series Lab and the Sundance Institute | The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) Accelerator. Two queer, hapa Hawaiian best friends decide to ditch their jobs as hotel servers and spend the day playing tourists in Waikīkī.
Oketani is a Native Hawaiian writer, director and storyteller born and raised on the island of Oʻahu. He graduated from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with a BFA in television writing and production. He wrote and produced his undergraduate thesis, “Gay Church,” a short-form comedy pilot.
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