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In this episode of The Fixate & Binge Podcast, host Joe Curdy sits down with writer/director Zoë Eisenberg and starring actress Mitzi Akaha to unpack their acclaimed 2024 indie film CHAPERONE -- a poignant, quietly powerful coming-of-age story set against the lush, time-suspended backdrop of Hawaiʻi.

Drawing on his own experiences living in Hawaiʻi, Joe explores the film’s deeply human themes from the film: arrested development, identity, the illusion of timelessness in Hawaiʻi and the inevitable drift into adulthood. Mitzi Akaha discusses her nuanced performance as Misha — a 29-year-old woman caught between youth and maturity — while Zoë Eisenberg reflects on crafting a narrative that examines age-gap dynamics, personal agency, and the consequences of refusing to grow up.

The conversation delves into:

• The real Hawaiʻi that inspired the film’s emotional tone
• What makes Misha both sympathetic and flawed
• How the chemistry between Akaha and Laird Akeo shapes the story
• Why CHAPERONE resonates as a modern, culturally specific portrait of coming of age
• What surprising, classic film inspired CHAPERONE the most!

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