Déjà Cresencia Bernhardt, a multifaceted filmmaker, was born and raised on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii. Her upbringing was a blend of diverse cultural influences, which she now draws upon to craft compelling narrative and documentary stories. Bernhardt's films have gained worldwide recognition, earning numerous awards and nominations, including a Student Academy Award nomination for her film, The Midwife's Husband, in 2012.
Her documentary work has had a significant impact globally, shedding light on humanitarian efforts in Africa, Indonesia, Haiti, and beyond. Two of her award-winning documentaries, Guerrilla Midwife (2010) and Tsunami Notebook (2009),were inspired by the humanitarian work of her mother, Ibu Robin Lim, a CNN Hero. Bernhardt's journey as a filmmaker began when she started following her mother around the world, documenting her important work.
Bernhardt holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film production from Maharishi International University, where she studied filmmaking as an undergraduate. She later earned her Master of Fine Arts in radio-television-film from the University of Texas. Bernhardt has received prestigious fellowships, including the New York Women in Film From-Script-to-Pre-production fellowship in 2019 and the Los Angeles Women In Film & Blacklist feature film lab fellowship with her feature screenplay, Half Angels.
Half Angels, her feature screenplay, was named one of the top ten best screenplays by CAPE: The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and The Black List in 2019. Bernhardt's prelude short for Half Angels, titled Last Hawaiian Sugar, was the 'Ohina Labs Greenlight Winner in 2019, a PIC/PBS funded project in 2020, and a recipient of the Austin Film Society Grant and Santa Fe Film Institute Grant. Bernhardt recently premiered her short film, Last Hawaiian Sugar, at the Hawaii International Film Festival in November 2021.
At the core of Bernhardt's work is a passion for creating films that open hearts and connect people to their global and indigenous communities.
