Aloha HIFF ʻOhana, As we enter our 45th year and reflect on the legacy and bright future ahead for HIFF, it is my honor to announce the next exciting evolution of the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival: HIFF ‘Ōpio Fest presented by Halekulani. This rebrand of our signature spring event will maintain all the acclaim of […]
HIFF’S SPRING ‘ŌPIO FEST COMING APRIL 8 – 13 Read More »
STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH BOJACK HORSEMAN SQUID GAME I-INTRO HIFILM, HIFF’s new Industry Hub of masterclasses, workshops, and panels will provide career development, networking, and pipelines programs for Hawaii’s creative content industry. The mandate for HIFILM is to explore pathways for fulfilling work in the industry and doing so from the Hawaiian Islands either
HIFF43 Presents: HIFILM Industry Panel Series Read More »
The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival is wrapping up this weekend and the HIFF programmers—Artistic Director, Anderson Le and Director of Programming, Anna Page—are wrapping up their annual programming trip. With numerous screenings and meetings with distributors and sales agents, it was a whirlwind ten days to seek out and secure the best in world cinema for the upcoming HIFF43 this coming
HIFF Programming Team Report From Cannes Film Festival Read More »
HIFF is excited to announce the Hawai’i premiere of the Sundance hit POLITE SOCIETY, the feature directorial debut from Nida Manzoor (WE ARE LADY PARTS). Ria is a martial artist-in-training, who believes she must save her older sister from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, she tries to pull off the most
Sundance Hit: POLITE SOCIETY at HIFF Spring Showcase Read More »
>>SUBMIT YOUR FILM HERE<< Submissions are now open for HIFF43 Fall Festival in the following categories: Narrative Feature Documentary Feature Narrative Short Documentary Short Pacific Islander Showcase Features Pacific Islander Showcase Shorts New American Perspectives Made in Hawai‘i Features Made in Hawai‘i Shorts Environmental Shorts Hawai‘i University Student Late Deadline: July 7, 2023 Hawai‘i International Film
REMAINING DEADLINES FOR 43rd ANNUAL HIFF FALL FESTIVAL Read More »
HIFF’s Artistic Director, Anderson Le, is currently attending the Udine Far East Film Festival 25th edition, an annual film festival held in Udine, Italy, which promotes Asian Cinema in Europe focusing mainly on films from East Asia. In 2023, the festival celebrating its 25th anniversary edition from April 21 to April 29, will focus on
HIFF Programming Team Visiting European Festivals To Scout for Hidden Jems Read More »
THOUGHTS: WHINA // A Companion essay by scholar ‘Ihilani Lasconia // “She is the daughter of Heremia Te Wake, chiefly leader of Ngaati Manawa, Te Rarawa and Ngaapuhi. She is from Panguru, the sacred mountain, and the guiding stars. She is of the sacred tree that leans to the west”. WHINA is a timely
FILM FOR THOUGHT: WHINA Read More »
THOUGHTS: MY SMALL LAND // A Companion essay by scholar Monisha Das Gupta // Earlier this year, the flight of 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion captured international attention and garnered an outpouring of support. The mainstream media’s framing of the flight of Ukrainians immediately raises the question:
FILM FOR THOUGHT: MY SMALL LAND Read More »
THOUGHTS: MIDWIVES // A Companion essay by scholar L. Ayu Saraswati // MIDWIVES is director Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s first feature film, winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Excellence in Vérité Filmmaking award. The film follows the lives of Hla, a Buddhist midwife, and her Muslim apprentice, Nyo Nyo, in Rakhine state, Myanmar. Their
FILM FOR THOUGHT: MIDWIVES Read More »
THOUGHTS: BATTLEGROUND // A Companion essay by scholar Grace Alvaro Caligtan // If the fall of Roe v Wade has become a moment to take a closer look at politics, power, and rights to bodily autonomy, then Cynthia Lowen’s documentary BATTLEGROUND offers a clarifying lens. Lowen gives viewers access to the inner workings of
FILM FOR THOUGHT: BATTLEGROUND Read More »
With aloha, HIFF acknowledges its occupation of ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Indigenous Hawaiian people, the Kānaka Maoli.
With gratitude, we honor the ʻāina itself and the generations who steward it.