The films may be short, but they took months — even a year — to make, say local filmmakers participating in 'Ohina: The Short Film Showcase today and Saturday at the Doris Duke Theatre.

The 14 titles, in a two-hour program, prove there's a groundswell of creative minds doing inventive projects ranging from mini-dramas to ecological documentaries and even animation.

"'Ohina is a great venue for Hawai'i audiences to see the best in locally produced short films," said Ryan Kawamoto, 30, director of "The Sand Island Drive-In Anthem," at 21 minutes the longest film in the collection.

"For me personally, 'Ohina has provided an ideal space to share my films with a great audience and among local filmmakers," said Blane Dydasco, 23, director of the drama "Nate Washington."

" 'Ohina helps me by giving me something to work towards and a place to display my work," said Joe Kostylo, 15, director of the two-minute "The Plight of the Coqui." "I could perhaps make a great and entertaining piece, but if it isn't shown at all, then none can be entertained; it loses purpose."

Kawamoto has been making flicks since he was 15, when he took a Waiakea High School video class. Dydasco, a Saint Louis School graduate from Mililani, now resides in Los Angeles. Kostylo has been dabbling in films for a few years.

There were challenges.

Kawamoto's film is an adaptation of a Cedric Yamanaka short story. "To take a 50-plus page story and adapt it into a 20-page screenplay for nearly a year," he said, meant severe editing. "I wish it could have been a full-length movie. Like a local plate lunch, the film contains a little bit of everything — comedy, romance, drama — in a uniquely local setting." Filming on location at Meg's, a real Kalihi drive-in, with the likes of Augie Tulba and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa also had its moments — including a next-door hostess bar creating peripheral noise.

He'll next direct Augie T's "Then and Now" DVD project this month, plus a Hawai'i-themed feature.

Dydasco shot his film in nine days over three weekends and the chief task was "to bring an emotional story that is very character-driven ... and tell it at a comfortable pace in the form of a short film." Next up: Developing a documentary based on the Military Reserve Center in Guam, to honor his grandfather, Vicente T. Dydasco.

Kostylo said the brief running time was confining. "I feel that if we were allowed a longer running time, the finished product would have been of much higher quality."

He has enrolled in film classes at Kaiser High School and is eyeing special-effects-heavy projects.

Less can be more and beneficial. "Because it is a small showcase, each film is allowed to stand out on its own and receives the attention it deserves from audiences," said Kawamoto. "Sometimes with larger film festivals, your short film gets lost in the crowd."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.