HIFF Programming

HIFILM: The hub for Hawai’i’s industry professionals, creatives, and film fans

Events, Features, Film Festival News, HIFF Talk Story, HIFILM / By

Film Festivals are more than just a curated collection of film screenings. Over the years, HIFF has also expanded its panels, talk stories and education initiatives, as the Festival invests in the cultural and economical pathways to independent cinema and content creation in Hawai‘i. The goal, since HIFF’s inception in 1981, is to be a […]

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HIFF SPRING SHOWCASE returns to 100% in-person | Gala Films: JAMOJAYA and SUZUME

Current Events, Features, Film Festival News, HIFF News, In Theaters, Spring Showcase / By

HIFF is thrilled to kick off the year with our 26th HIFF Spring Showcase presented by Halekulani with 20 feature films and 5 short films, all in-person at the Consolidated Kahala Theatres from March 31 through April 6. We are thrilled to open the Spring Showcase with the ‘hometown premiere’ of Justin Chon’s JAMOJAYA starring

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2023 Spring Showcase Program Announced

Current Events, Features, Film Festival News, In Theaters, Sundance / By

Filled with insight and discovery, the Hawaii International Film Festival is dedicated to advancing understanding and cultural exchange among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and North America by presenting films from around the world. We hold two film festivals on the island of O‘ahu every year, with our HIFF Spring Showcase serving as a

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: FASHIONED REIMAGINED, LYNCH/OZ & ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, Reviews / By

FASHIONED REIMAGINED, LYNCH/OZ, and ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED were official selections of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani I love documentaries a lot, but I know that puts me in the minority. Most of my friends can’t stand documentaries, they think that they’re boring and are only meant to be

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: “How Film Festivals Can Save Cinema” [Video Essay]

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, I ♥ HIFF / By

HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee Alioune Fall turns in a video essay summing up how the film festival ecosystem is the last line of defense to “save cinema-going” and cinema appreciation. He brings in the prominence of legacy IP (anything Disney, MCU, Star Wars, etc) as the new mono-culture and how attending film

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: Hunting for context in Lee Jung-jae’s HUNT

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, Reviews / By

It’s no secret that the highlight of my experience at HIFF42 was the screening of Lee Jung-jae’s HUNT (HIFF42 Centerpiece), which, as of writing this article, is now available on-demand online (I strongly recommend it!). So, given that I am neither Korean, nor am I particularly familiar with Korean history, I decided to look into

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: BROKER Review [Podcast]

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, Podcast, Reviews / By

BROKER was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. The film will be released commercially in select U.S. theaters in late December.  HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee Jim Fahey sits down with Leo Williams, a NY-based film critic, to discuss about the HIFF42 Closing Night Film BROKER

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: GODDAMNED ASURA shows how everyone has demons [Review]

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, Reviews / By

GODDAMNED ASURA was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. Warning, this review contains spoilers. GODDAMNED ASURA (2021, Dir. Lou Yi-an) is a Taiwanese crime drama that takes place twice with two alternative endings. In this movie, we originally follow the storyline of a young rich kid with divorced

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: PLAN 75: Subtlety in Tragedy [Video Essay]

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, Reviews / By

PLAN 75 was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. The film will be released in U.S. theaters and on demand in early 2023. Here is a video essay review of PLAN 75 by HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee Carson Lommers. After the HIFF42 screening, Carson overhears

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HOCCI @ HIFF42: “Why You Should Watch NANNY” [Video Essay]

Features, HIFF42, HOCCI, Reviews, Sundance / By

NANNY was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. The film will be released on Amazon Prime on December 16th. HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee Alioune Fall turns in a video essay on the HIFF42 official selection NANNY, which won the Grand Prize Jury Award at Sundance

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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.

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