Mango Meat

Hear the stories of the crew and why they are so passionate about the film:
Mango Meat is a local short film by Emma Daily and Andrea de Asis and is produced through the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa.

Mango Meat is a story told from the other side of suicide- those who are left behind, what we lose, and what we find during recovery.

When Selena Aquilano, a 20-year-old college student, rams her car into her elderly neighbor’s mango tree after a night of drinking, she finds herself forced to fix what property is broken or else otherwise face arrest. Selena is forced to confront her grief and self-destructive behavior through honest and hard work. Mrs. Ching, a retired ER nurse, follows her instincts and uncovers the source of Selena’s troubles: the suicide of her close friend. After Selena climbs into the mango tree to grab the biggest mangoes for Mrs. Ching’s famous mango chutney, Selena loses her grasp on a mango, which plummets to the ground, exposing its guts and meat. Triggered, Selena storms off. Later that night, Mrs. Ching is awoken by a noise she hears outside underneath her mango tree. She ventures out and discovers Selena sitting by herself. Through a kind exchange of words and investigation, Mrs. Ching gets Selena to open herself to her. They bond over their mutual losses of loved ones: Selena’s best friend and Mrs. Ching’s late husband. The next morning, Mrs. Ching is surprised to find Selena on her doorstep, wanting to find out how to make mango chutney.  Mango Meat is a story told from the other side of suicide- those who are left behind, what we lose and what we find during recovery.

The crew consists of University of Hawai`i Academy for Creative Media students and will begin production in late August/early September.