Featured articles, opinion pieces and reviews by select HIFF staff, interns and content providers.
Project Will Incubate and Support Eight Native Hawaiian Filmmakers In the Production of One Collaborative Feature Film (November 15, 2021) Honolulu, HI — The Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) presented by Halekulani announced today the launch of MAKAWALU, HIFF’s first production project that will bring eight kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) directors together to make one […]
HIFF Launches First Film Production MAKAWALU Read More »
Timothée Chalamet (pictured) as Paul Atreides Not even the dunes of Arrakis could smother the massive-scale retelling of Frank Herbert’s 1965 DUNE and psychedelic-inducing spice pales in comparison to the vision Denis Villeneuve achieves. But with that, we still have to ask: Is Dune a “white-savior” story? Note from the author: In an attempt
Notes on DUNE from a Native Hawaiian / by Kanani Lyons Read More »
Hawai‘i International Film Festival Announces Festival Award Winners Best Made in Hawai’i Feature – I WAS A SIMPLE MAN, directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi Best Made in Hawai’i Short – RIVER OF SMALL GODS, Directed by Bradley Tangonan Kau Ka Hōkū Grand Jury Award Winner – DARK RED FOREST, Directed by Jin Huaqing HIFF Best
HIFF41 Announces Festival Award Winners Read More »
In a theatre, an entire world exists. There’s aliens, robots, superheroes, and faces from another era and place that are only brought to life by the ethereal-like light that shines from one edge of the room, projecting onto the other end. There’s a silver screen, 30 feet tall and 40 feet wide, that reflects the
JANE CAMPION: A Retrospective / by Kanani Lyons Read More »
The world’s first comedy horror film is thought to be ONE EXCITING NIGHT (1922), which was written, directed, and produced by D.W. Griffith. As the last century added a profound amount of films to this genre, it is valuable to observe why the comedy horror genre has survived in cinemas for this long. Despite being
COMEDY HORROR MOVIES: The Embodiments of “Camp” Are Here to Stay Read More »
Watch the HIFF41 presentation of MONEYBOYS online November 15 – November 28, 2021 Anderson Le: What was the inspiration for MONEYBOYS? First of all, “Moneyboys” never intended to seduce the audience with explicitly dramatized documentary insight of a hustler´s daily work life to foster the voyeurism in every one of us. I don’t like the
MONEYBOYS: A Q&A with Director C.B. Yi Read More »
Albert Pyun had Hollywood dreams. He was sneaking onto Kaneohe Marine Corps Base to shoot his 8mm movies with school buddies, and was a voracious reader of detective noir and frequented the movie houses around Oahu that would play new Asian films, from Akira Kurosawa to King Hu. He was also an admirer of other
HIFF41 Honoree Spotlight: Why Albert Pyun Matters Read More »
The news earlier this week that Rappler founder and embattled journalist Maria Ressa became the first Filipino to be awarded the prestigious Nobel peace prize was greeted by human rights activists around the world. The award has put a spotlight on the struggle of journalists and activists fighting President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks on press freedom.
Revisiting HIFF’s Q&A with just announced Nobel prize honoree Maria Ressa Read More »
A Sweet Transgender Story Drowned in Motor Oil and Wrapped in Titanium Body Horror // This review DOES contain spoilers for TITANE – I do believe this movie is most effective without having any idea what will happen before going in. With that being said, it feels next to impossible to write about it without
REVIEW: TITANE (2021) Read More »
Sign up for HIFF Selects, a monthly curated streaming club Love in All Its Awkwardness Aspiring jazz singer Bertie is effortlessly beautiful in her voice and demeanor. As a New Orleans native living in the South of France, you hardly ever get the impression that she’s out of place. Lane is a slightly different story.
HIFF Selects: MA BELLE, MY BEAUTY 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.
