The Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) today announces its First Wave of Films for the 46th edition of the Festival (HIFF46 presented by Halekulani), taking place October 21–November 5, 2026 on O‘ahu, followed by screenings across the Neighbor Islands. HIFF46 PASSES ON SALE NOW This first look at HIFF46 previews 15 films representing
“Tell me about a complicated man.” Those are the first words of Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, lauded for its strikingly inventive interpretation of a thousand-year-old text—so much so, in fact, that in eight years it’s already become the definitive edition of Homer’s epic. You’ve got a copy, I have one sitting at home;
Photo Caption: The HIFF team at the 79th Cannes Film Festival (L to R): Aaron Hansen, Melina Coumas, Roma Lerner, Jen May Pastores No two film festivals are the same. Building on the foundation she developed as a HIFF intern, Roma Lerner—a Hawaiʻi native and Film and Environmental Studies student at Colgate University—set out
Set against the lush beauty of O‘ahu’s windward side, REELING follows Ryan, who returns to his family’s longtime homestead after a life-altering accident for a birthday lū‘au meant to reunite family and friends. But beneath the warmth of music, laughter, and torchlight, old wounds and unspoken tensions resurface. As the night unfolds, Ryan is forced
Cover photo by: Jen May Pastores – Cast members and team of New Zealand TV series TANGATA PAI (GOOD PEOPLE) attending HIFF’s inaugural HIFILM Industry Conference, October 26, 2025 In the fall of 2025, rolls of film were dedicated to documenting the people, places, and moments at the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival. The resulting
The 2026 HIFILM Producers Lab marked an exciting evolution of our lab programming, shifting focus from story development to the vital, often under-recognized role of the producer.
The 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 diversity in film criticism across the Pacific region and use influencer branding strategies to spark career opportunities in Hawai’i, not be hampered by oceans, state borders and distance, because geography is no longer a barrier.
The 2024/25 HOCCI supports Hawai‘i-based critics to be a HIFF45 press cohort to cover films, panels, or filmmakers at the 45th Annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. Film criticism will consists of four different focuses: writing, podcasting, video essays, and vlogs.
