Featured articles, opinion pieces and reviews by select HIFF staff, interns and content providers.
For Alika Tengan, it’s an honor to bring home a film about the people and culture of these islands to an eager audience that will attend his screenings at this year’s Hawai‘i International Film Festival. The Centerpiece film MOLOKA‘I BOUND will make its local debut on O‘ahu at the Consolidated Theatres at Ward, then travel […]
HIFF44 Centerpiece Film MOLOKA‘I BOUND with Filmmaker Alika Tengan Read More »
The HIFF44 SPOTLIGHT ON THE PHILIPPINES is a broad cross-section of Pinoy cinema. From thrillers starring one of the biggest Pinay stars, Marian Rivera, to the latest from wunderkind director Mikhail Red with an esports drama, to the chronicling of the ‘Pink Revolution’ during the Presidential elections of 2022, and a newly digitally restored seminal
Pinoy Films at HIFF44-From the Pink Revolution to E-Sports to Revisiting Lino Brocka Read More »
The Story of Honolulu Horror Nights Honolulu Horror Nights, a local non-profit organization on O’ahu, has quickly become a must-attend event for horror fans in Hawai’i. What started as a passion project by Steven Hobaica, a horror fanatic since childhood, has grown into a vibrant, inclusive community celebrating all things weird and macabre. Steven, a
HIFF’s Halloween Horror Lineup with Honolulu Horror Nights Read More »
September 22, 2004 was the day when the ABC Network aired the pilot episode of LOST. Two decades since the groundbreaking series first captivated audiences with its blend of mystery, sci-fi, and human drama, LOST redefined television storytelling with its nonlinear narrative, deeply developed characters, and intricate plot twists. Set on a mysterious island after
Happy 20th Anniversary to LOST: A Look Back Read More »
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 »
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.
