In 2025, five rare Palila finches survive in the wild and a woman journeys to Hawaii, the Extinction Capital of the World, to see the last few birds. Through animation and live-action footage, the film explores how a species is preserved by man as it nears extinction by looking at past and present efforts to save Hawaiian birds. Struggle for Existence contemplates Darwin’s theory of natural selection, inevitability of death, and our human instinct to “save nature.” Do we value the animals with whom we share this planet, or is the destruction of a species the natural course of life?
Production Credits: Directed, Animated, Written and Edited by Laurie Sumiye.
Music Hans Fahling
Sound Mixer Ted Marcus
Color Colin Travers
Animation Advisor Douglas Filiak
Technical Advisor Eric Freidenberg
Story Advisor Geeta Patel
Camera David Corrigan Tim OʻBryan Laurie Sumiye
Photo Credit Jack Jeffrey Miki Noguchi Peter Somol Jason Sumiye
Cast (in order of appearance)
Charles Darwin - Kim Pimmel
Henry Wetherbee - Henshaw Benjamin Moss
Donald Dickey - Dylan Gaultier
Cindy Spiva-Evans - Kuʻulei Miura Fahling
Woman - Laurie Sumiye
