The HIFF44 programming team is very excited to present four stellar films from India that represent a truly banner year for one of the largest film industries in the world. Best known for Bollywood—bombastic song and dance extravaganzas about star-crossed, yet chaste, lovers-to-be—this year’s crop of Indian films present a more dramatic, elegiac tone that […]
Banner Year for Indian Films at HIFF44 Read More »
When international films get chosen to be featured at festivals like HIFF worldwide, it starts them on a journey in hopes of gaining wider accolades, and few match the prestige of winning an Oscar. Our festival has been fortunate enough in years past to screen foreign films that later went on win such a coveted
International Feature Film Oscar Nominee Hopefuls Showing at HIFF Read More »
The phrase “timing is everything” couldn’t relate better to the festival’s evening with SHŌGUN’s showrunners Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, who are this year’s HIFF44 Career Achievement Award honorees. Make sure to book your tickets for SHŌGUN – AN EVENING WITH SHOWRUNNERS JUSTIN MARKS & RACHEL KONDO, scheduled for October 11th at Consolidated Kahala. It
SHŌGUN makes history winning 18 Emmy Awards Read More »
The Taiwan film industry in 2024 stands at a fascinating crossroads, marked by a renaissance of creativity, a bold embrace of storytelling and genre diversity, and an increasing presence on the global stage with major exposure on the film festival circuit. Over the years, Taiwan’s cinematic output has evolved significantly, reflecting the island’s rich cultural
Spotlight on Taiwan: A Fascinating Crossroads in 2024 Read More »
In THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS and STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS, wāhine Hawaiʻi (Native Hawaiian women) take center stage. A hundred years separate the events of the films, but both celebrate the unique ways in which wāhine resist settler colonialism. Across time, love of land and lāhui help us persist through every storm. The animated medium of
Film For Thought: THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS + STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS (HIFF44) Read More »
SISAM is a fictional drama with a historical backdrop set during the Edo period in the middle of conflicts that arose between the men of Wa or Wajin (those of settler-Japanese ancestry), and the Indigenous Ainu tribes of Ezochi (what is now known as Hokkaido). Kojiro is the son of a Samurai who is part
Film For Thought: SISAM (HIFF44) Read More »
“Ever since the United States became a nation in 1787, and Canada in 1867, Indigenous peoples exercising their sovereignty and self determination have been depicted as terrorists… when the state or a powerful corporation identifies an individual as a terrorist, they can act with impunity against even your most basic human rights” — Joanne Barker
Film For Thought: YINTAH (HIFF44) Read More »
The Hong Kong film industry has risen from the doldrums of the pandemic with the rise of local films gaining prominence and high box office grosses in 2024. This is best personified with Soi Cheang’s neo-noir action extravaganza TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN broke box office records and kicked off a new franchise in
Spotlight on Hong Kong: 2024, The Road to Recovery Read More »
By popular demand, we have added a second screening of 26.2 TO LIFE after the first screening quickly sold out. Directed by Christine Yoo, she and special guests from the film will also be in attendance for an after-film Q&A. 26.2 TO LIFE (Encore screening) Wednesday, March 27th, 5:30pm – Consolidated Kahala (Buy Tickets) Below
Encore screening of 26.2 TO LIFE added – 3/27, 5:30pm Read More »
The 2024 HIFF Spring Showcase is here with the Hawai‘i premiere of Lee Tamahori’s Aotearoa-set historical epic THE CONVERT, which is also screening again this weekend. The Guy Pearce-led action epic had its world premiere at Toronto last fall and will be commercially released in New Zealand this month. Meanwhile, the Spring Showcase is always
Sundance premieres at 2024 HIFF Spring Showcase 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.