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HIFF 12th Annual Spring Showcase April 3-9, 2009 For the most updated film information, please see our Online Film Schedule. Tickets go on sale to HIFF members on March 23rd and to the general public on March 27th. Movie ticket prices are $10, $9 for students, seniors, children, and military. HIFF Ohana Members get tickets priced per membership level.Tickets are available in person at the HIFF Box Office (680 Iwilei Road, Suite 100, Honolulu, HI 96817) Monday March 23rd - Thursday April 2nd, 11am - 6pm (pre-sale hours). From April 3rd - April 9th, tickets can be purchased or picked up at the Guest Services Counter inside the Regal Dole Cannery Theatre Lobby one hour prior to the first show until the start of the last show, online at www.hiff.org, by phone at 550-8457(TIKS), or by fax at 536-2707. Film Synopses: 20TH CENTURY BOYS (JAPAN - 142 min.) [View Trailer] 
MON. April 6th | 6:30pm The epic manga series 20TH CENTURY BOYS comes to life! Recollections of youth make the burdens of adulthood easier for Kenji, until they come back to haunt him. A plague of bizarre and dangerous events begin, and the source of these occurrences point to a comic book he and his friends created long ago and a mysterious masked man known only as Friend. Vague childhood memories hold the key to the puzzle, and Kenji must reunite with his friends to save the world. An international hit that has thrilled audiences, this mind blowing mystery that spans the decades begins here!!
TUES. April 7th | 6:15pm The year is now 2015, and Friend has become an ally to the world. Kenji’s niece, Kanna (who holds the same rebellious spirit as her uncle) continues the fight against Friend. Yukiji watches over Kanna, but is finding it increasingly difficult to keep her safe. Things go from bad to worse however, when Yukiji and the others discover The New Book of Prophecy. In it resides plans that function as the continuation of events depicted in the original Book of Prophecy. As all the major players head toward one final confrontation, only one thing remains truly uncertain: Where is Kenji?
SUN. April 5th | 8:45pm In Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, wealthy farmers own huge plantations and spend their nights with tourists who come bird watching. Meanwhile, at the borders of their lands, the uneasiness of the natives, who were the original inhabitants, is rapidly growing. Enclosed in reserves, working as semi-slaves in sugar beet plantations, many young people commit suicide. A rebellion soon emerges as a group of native Guarani-Kaiowà starts camping outside one of the properties in protest. The two opposing worlds face each other. Although anger simmers, both sides are also fascinated and curious about "the other"- a curiosity that will create a deep bond between a young shaman apprentice and a farmer’s daughter.
TUE. April 7th | 9:15pm Armed with pocket-sized video cameras, a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country. In 2007, after decades of self-imposed silence, Burma became headline news across the globe when peaceful Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion. More than 100,000 people took to the streets protesting a cruel dictatorship that has held the country hostage for more than 40 years. Foreign news crews were banned, the Internet was shut down, and Burma was closed to the outside world. So how did we witness these events? Enter the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), aka the Burma VJs. Compiled from the shaky handheld footage of the DVB, acclaimed filmmaker Anders Ostergaard’s BURMA VJ pulls us into the heat of the moment as the VJs themselves become the target of the Burmese government.
SUN. April 5th | 3:00pm The first of a planned four features, part one retells roughly the first six episodes of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, including Shinji Ikari's reunion with his estranged father, Gendo Ikari, and Shinji's introduction to EVA-01, the giant robot he's destined to pilot. Key characters Misato Katsuragi and Rei Ayanami are introduced, and viewers are given their first taste of the series' famously deep storyline, which mixes science fiction, war, psychology, theology, and existentialism into a single compelling work.
FRI. April 3rd | 6:15pm FOOD, INC. asks us how much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets? We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults. FOOD, INC. reveals surprising -- and often shocking truths -- about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
FRI. April 3rd | 6:30pm Hailed as the highest grossing (Hindi) film of all time, India’s blockbuster hit, GHAJINI finally makes its Hawaii debut. Starring the absolutely ripped Amir Khan (who trained for a year to get those awesome eight-pack abs and bulging biceps) as Sanjay, a man afflicted with short-term memory determined on avenging the death of his girlfriend. If the plot sounds familiar it is because it is a remake within remake -- based on a Tamil film of the same name, which was a remake itself of Christopher Nolan’s MEMENTO -- Regardless, director A.R. Murugados manages to add his own spin on this tale to keep audiences at the edge of their seats.
SUN. April 5th | 6:15pm FILM CANCELLED - We'll get a replacement for these showtimes.
SAT. April 4th | 3:15pm Overcome with grief when her beloved cat passes on, Asako, a manga artist, finds that she can no longer concentrate on her latest project. Her assistants try their utmost to cheer her up but are ineffective, until a kitten named Gugu comes into their lives. With the help of Gu-gu and her assistants, Asako begins once again to appreciate the simple joys of life and continue her work. GU-GU THE CAT is a heartwarming crowd pleaser especially made for those who understand the inspiration, comfort, strength and love pets give unconditionally.
FRI. April 3rd | 8:30pm After enchanting audiences as a spunky cyborg in CYBORG SHE (2008 LVHIFF), Haruka Ayase is back to win crowds over once again! Ayase is the blind musician Ichi who leads a life of solitude by wandering from town to town. When a village she is in becomes hostage to two opposing clans, Ichi must reveal her deadly sword fighting skills to protect the villagers. Director Fumihiko Sori’s film pays tribute to ZATOICHI, but by making the main character a blind swordswoman instead of a blind swordsman, Sori adds his own intriguing twist to the ever popular franchise.
SUN. April 5th | 12:15pm When Vikram arrives in Mumbai from New Delhi hoping to break into the movie business, he soon finds romance with Sona, who’s been in the industry for a few years, but is still waiting for her big break. The film navigates the competitive Bollywood industry, and gets its digs in early and often by populating the business with characters who are vacuous, sleazy or both. It might seem as if Bollywood couldn’t possibly satirize itself - the genre is already so over-the top, but director Zoya Akhtar manages the trick deftly in LUCK BY CHANCE, an appealing tale of two would-be actors looking for movie stardom.
SAT. April 4th | 11:00am HIFF is partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu (BBBS) for a special screening of a film created by ten local kids and their BBBS mentors. MAILI LAND'S STORIES OF HOPE are three short films written, directed and produced by children, ages 11-17, who are part of BBBS's Maili Land project, a transitional housing program on Oahu's Leeward side. Moviegoers will see that the stories these children tell ring true. FRIENDSHIP is the story of one boy who moves into Maili Land, a transitional housing program, and struggles to make friends. A PROMISE tells the tale of another Maili Land family and how their son sees promise in the future. *$5 admission for this screening.
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This year's SPRING SHOWCASE will present over 20 acclaimed and award-winning films from around the world, including South Korea, Japan, China, Italy, Brazil, India, Iran, France, the US and many more. Sign up for our eNews mailing list or keep visiting our website for the official announcement of the full line-up. We also have re-designed membership packages for 2009, which are more flexible than last year's offerings. Film Synopses (Cont.):
WED. April 8th | 6:15pm Swimming instructor Cheon-soo loses everything he has to gambling and realizes that he’ll be paying off his debts for the rest of his life. His moneylender, Kang, approaches him with the dangerous proposition of becoming a “marine boy,” a drug trafficker that swims across the ocean with illegal drugs. Cheon-seo relents and goes on drug-runs, risking his life. Soon, he meets a mysterious beauty, who has been tracking him...
TUES. April 7th | 6:00pm Sung-nam is a 40ish, married painter who is exiled in Paris, on the lam from getting caught smoking pot in Seoul. Feeling trapped in life and blocked in his art, the getaway proves welcome - only now that he's actually settled in the City of Light, what should he do? Director Hong Sang-soo channeling Eric Rhomer, creates a beautifully observed, characteristically wry chronicle of Sung-nam's attempt to savor his wandering year. Not speaking a word of French, Sung-nam joins a floating group of Korean ex-pat bohemians. When he meets art student Hyun-ju and her roommate Yu-jeong, it could be that love is in the air—or is it just Paris?
SAT. April 4th | 6:15pm Vivacious and lovely Taani (Anushka) decides to fulfill her father’s last wish and marry his favorite pupil, the geeky and shy Surinder (Shah Rukh Khan). Surinder is devastated when Taani says that she cannot love him, and decides to win his new bride’s affection by secretly transforming himself into a suave and dashing alter ego named Raj. Raj signs up for the same dance lessons as Taani and as they rehearse a growing attraction between the two ensues. Will Surinder come clean about his secret identity, and can Taani learn to love an ordinary "Jodi?"
SUN. April 5th | 6:00pm The beautifully drawn anime, SKY CRAWLERS, is a futuristic tale where countries settle their differences with one another through battles in the air rather than participating in full-scale war. The pilots are called “Kildren,” and have been genetically altered to never age. Top-notch Japanese fighter pilot Yuichi Kannami has just been assigned to a new air base. He has only vague memories of his past, and knows only how to fly and fight. However, when he meets Suito Kusanagi, the beautiful girl in command at the base, a disturbing new awareness of the meaninglessness of his life starts creeping into his timeless soul. - TIFF
SAT. April 4th | 12:15pm Karim leads a simple and contented life with his family. After losing his job at an ostrich farm, he travels to the city in order to repair his elder daughterís hearing aid. While in Tehran, Karim is mistaken for a motorcycle taxi driver. Thus begins his new profession: ferrying people and goods through heavy traffic. But the people and material goods that he deals with daily begin to transform Karimís generous and honest nature, much to the distress of his wife and daughters. It is up to those closest to him to restore the values that he had once cherished.
MON. April 6th | 6:15pm Helene gathers her children and grandchildren at her French country estate to celebrate her 75th birthday. Their gift of a tricky-to-use mobile phone, however, seems to symbolize the 21st-century pressures that are closing in on her precious way of life. The growing sense the exquisite Helene - the niece of a famous artist - has of her own mortality leads her to bequeath her most valuable artwork and furniture to her closest family: her eldest son Frederic, daughter Adrienne and brother Jeremie. Gradually, Director Assayas shows how family ties, even in affectionate families, inevitably erode over time. SUMMER HOURS is a bittersweet elegy about love and memory and the ways in which we hold them.
SAT. April 4th | 6:00pm The story of the quiet unraveling of a family begins when the father, Ryuhei, loses his job unexpectedly. Facing completely unfamiliar circumstances, he decides not to tell his family and begins his lonely sojourn into the world of the secretly unemployed. The film is crafted in a way where you not only observe the crisis and triumphs of what each family member goes through, but experience it as well. Equal parts social commentary and situational comedy, Kurosawa's film also feels like a thriller. With TOKYO SONATA, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa has produced one of his most original and accomplished works.
THU. April 9th | 3:15pm When their mother decides to search for her estranged husband, seven year-old Jin and younger sister Bin are left in the care of Big Aunt. Jin and Bin cling to the promise of their mother's return, but as time goes on, no news is heard, so the two sisters must find ways to cope with being shuffled from one relative to another, adapt to their new environment, and deal with feelings of abandonment. Drawing critical acclaim in the festival circuit, TREELESS MOUNTAIN is a heartbreaking tale told through the eyes of a little girl forced to grow up too soon.
SAT. April 4th | 3:00pm Nati Baratz's outstanding new documentary chronicles a former disciple's search for his reincarnated Tibetan master. After twenty-six years of isolated meditation in a mountain cave, Lama Konchog became one of the greatest Tibetan masters of our time. When he passed away in 2001 at age eighty-four, the Dalai Lama instructed his shy, devoted disciple Tenzin Zopa to search for his master's reincarnation. Assisted by astrology, signs from dreams and the whispers of villagers, Tenzin travels by helicopter, mule and foot. Visually stunning, emotionally gripping and shot over the course of four years, UNMISTAKEN CHILD follows a sacred quest through the eyes of a remarkable attendant.
SAT. April 4th | 8:45pm We follow a pair of young brothers as they arrive at an elite small town martial arts school with their father who is a teacher there. Together with their best friends, the five children discover a secret hideaway and form their own gang swearing allegiance to each other and to be the best. As they reach their graduation year, with the provincial team selection looming, their friendship is tested and they are forced to face the perils of the world outside their school. The actors are all wushu graduates and accomplished martial artists. Executive produced by Jackie Chan and co-starring Sammo Hung!
SUN. April 5th | 9:15pm A lovelorn schoolteacher and her class of young high school girls are visiting a rural countryside in search of a shrine rumored to help people find true love. Little do they know that they are about to be caught in the middle of a battle between a zombie samurai and the villagers he is determined to destroy. Stuck in the countryside and with limited cell phone reception, what is this group of unlikely heroes to do against the rage of the undead? YAMAGATA SCREAM is a hilarious comedy-horror film directed by and starring Naoto Takenaka (SHALL WE DANCE, PING PONG, AZUMI). |
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