aka productions
ABOUT
aka productions amplifies the voices of bipoc and queer artists through a focus on narrative, experimental and interactive film and media arts.
We believe in telling these stories by the people and through the voices of whom these stories belong.
Our work has screened at Cinéma Olympia Cannes, British Film Institute and over 40 international film festivals, art galleries and conferences.
Co-Founded by Angelique Kalani Axelrode and Douglas Finnegan, who are both Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and queer artists, aka productions was born through a mutual desire to tell the stories of their people and communities. We focus on process over product to ensure high quality art and high quality human interaction.
We are one of the first & only queer and bipoc owned, full service production company with both specialties in traditional film production and expanded media production.
We believe in telling these stories by the people and through the voices of whom these stories belong.
Our work has screened at Cinéma Olympia Cannes, British Film Institute and over 40 international film festivals, art galleries and conferences.
Co-Founded by Angelique Kalani Axelrode and Douglas Finnegan, who are both Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and queer artists, aka productions was born through a mutual desire to tell the stories of their people and communities. We focus on process over product to ensure high quality art and high quality human interaction.
We are one of the first & only queer and bipoc owned, full service production company with both specialties in traditional film production and expanded media production.
TEAM
Angelique Kalani Axelrode (they/she/ʻo ia)
is a multimedia artist and founder of aka productions, a production company committed to relational approaches to media-making.
Their work spans film, installation, live performance, and interactive design, exploring how intimacy, embodiment, and decolonial possibility take shape across forms.
Axelrode began making films on a 16mm Bolex and remains drawn to physical formats and tactility. Their practice has since expanded to include biomaterial fabrication and participatory performances using interactive software.
Recent presentations include screenings of their Super 8mm films at BFI (ʻ23/ʻ25) and interactive performances at ISEA (ʻ25). Across mediums, they treat process as aesthetic and method—shaping how stories are made and who gets to tell them. A 2023 LIFT Awardee from NACF and TRADES AiR at Aupuni Space, they hold a Master’s in Interactive Media Arts from NYU Tisch, where they return as a 2025–26 Postdoctoral Fellow.
is a multimedia artist and founder of aka productions, a production company committed to relational approaches to media-making.
Their work spans film, installation, live performance, and interactive design, exploring how intimacy, embodiment, and decolonial possibility take shape across forms.
Axelrode began making films on a 16mm Bolex and remains drawn to physical formats and tactility. Their practice has since expanded to include biomaterial fabrication and participatory performances using interactive software.
Recent presentations include screenings of their Super 8mm films at BFI (ʻ23/ʻ25) and interactive performances at ISEA (ʻ25). Across mediums, they treat process as aesthetic and method—shaping how stories are made and who gets to tell them. A 2023 LIFT Awardee from NACF and TRADES AiR at Aupuni Space, they hold a Master’s in Interactive Media Arts from NYU Tisch, where they return as a 2025–26 Postdoctoral Fellow.
Douglas Luke Pa’ipa’ikū Finnegan (he/him)
is a Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Chinese Executive Producer and co-founder of aka productions llc, based in the Bay Area. A former PEAK Producing Fellow, he is passionate about using film to amplify queer and Indigenous voices, with a focus on expanding the possibilities of Pacifika storytelling.
Raised on the island of Oʻahu, Douglas grew up listening to the stories of his kūpuna, shaped by both old Hawaiʻi and the northern Philippines. He is currently pursuing his MBA at MIT, where he focuses on leveraging capital to build more equitable and community-rooted production ecosystems. At Google, Douglas explores emerging tools and organizational structures to support innovation and collaboration—insights he brings directly into his work as a producer and cultural strategist. Across all his work, he is committed to investing in media that centers joy, resistance, and belonging across the Pacific.
is a Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Chinese Executive Producer and co-founder of aka productions llc, based in the Bay Area. A former PEAK Producing Fellow, he is passionate about using film to amplify queer and Indigenous voices, with a focus on expanding the possibilities of Pacifika storytelling.
Raised on the island of Oʻahu, Douglas grew up listening to the stories of his kūpuna, shaped by both old Hawaiʻi and the northern Philippines. He is currently pursuing his MBA at MIT, where he focuses on leveraging capital to build more equitable and community-rooted production ecosystems. At Google, Douglas explores emerging tools and organizational structures to support innovation and collaboration—insights he brings directly into his work as a producer and cultural strategist. Across all his work, he is committed to investing in media that centers joy, resistance, and belonging across the Pacific.
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