Venues, Parking, Transportation

Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18

735 Iwilei Rd Honolulu, HI 96817

Parking: Validated parking is available at the Dole Cannery garage. Enter garage on Pacific St.

Public Transportation: Buses 19, 20 stop in front of Dole Cannery.

Driving Directions: How to get to the theater from Waikiki

Sunset on the Beach

Queens Beach, Waikiki (intersection of Kalakaua & Kapahulu)

Parking: Free parking at the Waikiki Shell, Metered parking at the Honolulu Zoo and on Kalakaua Ave (South of Monsarrat).

Public Transportation: Buses B, E, 2, 4, 8, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 42 stop in this area.

Hawaii Theatre Center

1130 Bethel Street Honolulu, HI 96813

Parking: Metered street parking in Chinatown, many garages in the area.

Public Transportation: 

Royal Hawaiian Theater

2201 Kalakaua Avenue Honolulu, HI 96815

Parking: Park in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center garage and get your ticket validated. Please do not park in the Sheraton Waikiki garage, as the Royal Hawaiian Theater does not validate that parking ticket.

Public Transportation: 

Attending the Hawaii International Film Festival

Simply put, a film festival is just a night out at the movies. At the same time, it's so much more than a night out at the movies. It's special because of the TYPE of movies you can see. They're international films, cultural films, independently produced films, and art films. Hawai'i's location between the US mainland and the continent of Asia makes it the perfect place to host a gallery of movies that revolve around the idea of "east meeting west."

To really connect the audience with the movies, we bring in the filmmakers in person to speak about and answer questions regarding their films. On top of just showing the movies, we have programs that cultivate "visual literacy" and seminars about film production. HIFF is 11 straight days of over 150 different films representing dozens of countries, featuring countless filmmakers and celebrities. The event is a true celebration of film (hence, film festival).

The Event Layout

The lines for each film may be the first thing you see when you come to an event (especially if it's a mob). The crowd is separated into nine (or so) lines, right outside the theater lobby. Understanding the lines is critical to navigating HIFF. Three movies line up at a time. For each movie there are three lines (3 movies x 3 lines = 9 lines). Each line will indicate which movie is queueing up and which ticket type should be standing in that line.

Additionally, for shows that 'sell out,' we form a 'rush' line that still offers an opportunity to watch the film. HIFF volunteers will be stationed at several places around the floor to assist you. We'll have people at the information desk, at the rear of the lines, at the lobby door and at the theater doors.