The 2026 HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) program, powered by Critical Minded, supports sustainable film criticism in Hawai‘i through mentorship and paid career opportunities. The mission of HOCCI is to broaden and strengthen film criticism culture in Hawaiʻi across a new media multi-disciplinary approach–via online (blog, magazine) review writing, but also via more prominent mediums such as vlogs, web video commentary content creation, podcast recordings and social media platforms.
This year, for its fifth iteration, we are continuing having specific film screenings serve as HOCCI after-film discussions, with a focus on engaging audiences in thoughtful conversations around film. Internationally attending guest critics will each host a screening followed by an in-depth discussion with the audience, offering insights into the film’s themes, context, and cinematic craft. This series invites viewers to explore cinema through a critical and culturally engaged lens.
Cohort participants will acquire skills around learning the nuts and bolts of filmmaking via film language, how to report on films and television from a unique point of view by becoming one’s own media outlet, and how to sustainably create content online remotely (i.e. not based in LA or NY). Cohort participants will also be given a special press pass to HIFF45 to view and review films, support with promoting and publishing their film reviews, and individualized one-on-one mentor support throughout HIFF46.
The 2026 HOCCI cohort:
Stacie Bae is a graduate student at UH Manoa studying communications. They have an interest in media analysis, especially regarding television, film, and social media, as well as creating stories with elements of Korean culture.
Junseok Eom began his career in South Korea as a film critic, festival programmer, and video producer. He served as a jury member at the Busan International Short Film Festival and as Program Director for the Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival. Eom wrote film criticism for Cultura and has contributed film-related articles to Kyungsang Ilbo since 2026. After moving to the U.S., he produced digital content for NRDC, an environmental advocacy organization. He currently works at KBFD-TV in Hawai‘i as a news video editor and commercial/documentary producer, while expanding his work in U.S. film criticism and festivals.
Jordan Kapono Nakamura is a writer, photographer, filmmaker, former teacher and farmer from Nuʻuanu. He studied film at Biola University and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles. His writing and interviews have been featured in Kenyon Review, Gulf Coast, New England Review and The Academy of American Poets. He works toward Aloha ‘Aina, social justice, policy advocacy, political education and global solidarity as a community organizer on Oahu. He is likely somewhere reading, watching films, or working in a loʻi, and is definitely deeply in love.
Quinten Nishime: Starting as a boots-on-the-ground volunteer with HIFF in 2024, Quinten has been energetically walking up and down the festival lines running through Kahala Mall, making sure everyone has their tickets and gets to their seats. He’s met many kind and gracious volunteers and attendees who have directed him toward new films and genres. He appreciates all forms of media and gravitates most toward animation. Outside of HIFF, you can find him helping produce improv events, attending as many live theater shows as his budget (and partner) allow, and using his Consolidated Theatres pass to see movies with his dad.
Andrea Pollard is a Honolulu-based movie aficionado, writer and nurse. Whether arthouse, blockbuster or camp, she is drawn to films that delicately balance subversion and accessibility and believes that having a shared emotional experience in front of the big screen can be group therapy. Andrea has recently been exploring gender and age representation in television and film, with a special focus on who gets to be the hero.
Jaelle Valencia – who grew up on the east side of O‘ahu – always knew writing would lead her to where she wanted to go. It wasn’t until college that she immersed herself into the world of film and with a love for character work and worldbuilding, she hopes to one day venture into screenwriting and broaden people’s perspectives of Hawaii through her films. Her favorite films include KNIVES OUT and INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE with a soft spot for THE ARISTOCATS. Her creative interests span beyond film as she enjoys scrapbooking, karaoke, and traveling with her parents and three brothers.
2026 HOCCI Mentors are:
- Mia Lee Vicino is a film journalist and former West Coast editor for Letteroxd.
- Mick Pilgrim is a critic and content creator whose popular TikTok and Instagram videos spotlight Southeast Asian and queer cinema.
- Duncan Caillard is a Melbourne-based professor, who has written for Senses of Cinema and is the author of a book on the works of Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Emerson Goo Is a Deaf writer, film curator, and planner/landscape designer from and based in Honolulu with interests in film, moving-image art, and environmental design across the Asia-Pacific region.
- Jason Sanders contributor to Filmmaker Magazine, Film Research Specialist and archivist at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive Library.
- Jesse Hawthorne Ficks, of MOViES FOR MANiACS, 48Hills and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, is the Film History Coordinator at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
- Stevie Wong is a member of BAFTA, the Critics Choice Association, and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He is also the founder of ASIAN A.V. CLUB.
For more info on the mentors and the program, visit the HIFF HOCCI website.
