Spotlight on Korea
Middle-aged and surly, Mu-ok (Kim Yeon-sook) runs a tight ship at his traditional restaurant famous for its mandoo. All he really wants are heirs but, alas, his only son leaves…
Spotlight on Hong Kong
In this tender excavation of love's afterlife, Ray Yeung illuminates the quiet devastations of everyday life, offering a portrait of grief rippling through the cracks of societal norms – a…
Spotlight on India
The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year''s Cannes Film Festival…
Spotlight on China
Relevant and moving, deeply personal yet universally resonant, AN UNFINISHED FILM by Lou Ye revisits footage from the past and brings order — through intelligent, unconventional filmmaking — to the…
Panorama
Twelve-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug (a wild Barry Keoghan) and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent, England. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids,…
Spotlight on China
Man befriends stray dog: That’s the basic premise for this striking widescreen film that won the Un Certain Regard award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Respected director Hu Guan…
Panorama
Steve McQueen’s BLITZ follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a nine-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the…
Southeast Asian Showcase
HIFF is proud to show a digitally restored version of a historic piece of brutal social realism that was nearly lost due to neglect. A pioneer of Philippines cinema whose…
Made In Hawaii
Misha Miyamoto, 29, lives alone in the house her grandmother left her, has held the same job since high school, and likes her life as is: simple. Unfortunately, her satisfaction…
Kau Ka Hōkū Award Nominee, Spotlight on Japan
Kana (Yuumi Kawai), 21-years-old, works as an assistant at a beauty salon. Thinking about the future is too tedious for her and she doesn’t even know what she wants in…
Spotlight on Korea
Myung-deuk (Jung Woo) and Dong-hyeok (Kim Dae-myung) are police crime investigators who collect bribes on the side--the former to cover mounting medical bills for his sick daughter, while the latter…
Spotlight on Hong Kong
Rising filmmaker Sasha Chuk wrote, directed, and co-stars in this award-winning feature debut adapted from her own semi-autobiographical novella. She plays the wife of a Hunanese man who she reunites…
Southeast Asian Showcase, YES
The popular sports underdog trope–from COOL RUNNINGS to THE MIGHTY DUCKS–is updated to include the world of esports in this all-ages film set in Manila and Hong Kong. Hazel, an…
Spotlight on India
In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, a model student, 16-year-old Mira (Preeti Panigrahi in a radiant debut performance), despite her ambition and primness, is overcome by desire…
Closing Night Film, Spotlight on Japan
During the late Edo period, legendary author Bakin spent an epic 28 years writing his masterpiece Nanso Hatomi Hakkenden one of Japan’s greatest works. HAKKENDEN ambitiously follows the master Bakin…
Kau Ka Hōkū Award Nominee, Spotlight on Japan
Best friends Yuta and Kou are about to graduate high school in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life. One night, they pull a…
Spotlight on Taiwan
Ma Chih-hsiang, Lin Ching-tai and Hsu Yi-fan, all from Oscar shortlisted SEEDIQ BALE (HIFF 2011), head the cast of this suspense thriller of a once close-knit family torn asunder. Two…
Panorama
Rio de Janeiro, early 1970s. Brazil faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. We are introduced to the Paivas: a father, Rubens, a mother, Eunice, and their five children.…
Panorama, Special Screening
Relegated to the background, Willis (Jimmy O. Yang) goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables and dreaming about a whole world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes…
Spotlight on Japan
The title comes from a beloved Okinawan folk song, which plays a pivotal role in this heartfelt drama that strikes a fine balance between comedy and teary poignancy. A wayward…
Spotlight on Korea
Jae-hee (Kim Go-eun) is a free-spirited young woman, who is completely unconcerned with other people’s opinions and draws attention with her bold style and daring attitude. Heung-soo (Steve Sanghyun Noh,…
Spotlight on Hong Kong
Are online “romance scams” always destructive? In this moving, absorbing feature debut from Ho Miu-ki, Sandra Ng (HIFF44’s SPOTLIGHT ON HONG KONG Filmmaker In Profile) plays Veronica, a wealthy, widowed…
Panorama
Her life may be a mess, but Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook of SUCCESSION fame) does derive pleasure from three things: her snail collection, romance novels and her guinea pigs. As…
Centerpiece Presentation, Kau Ka Hōkū Award Nominee, Made In Hawaii, Pacific Showcase
After years of incarceration, Kainoa De Silva, a wayward Hawaiian man, is paroled. Fully committed to reconnecting with his family, most important is rebuilding a relationship with his son, Jonathan.…