fbpx

Features

Featured articles, opinion pieces and reviews by select HIFF staff, interns and content providers.

HIFF42 Audience Award Winners

The votes have been tabulated and the audience has spoken. The HIFF42 Audience Award winners were announced this morning live on Hawaii News Now Sunrise. Here are the HIFF42 Audience Award winners presented by Hawaii News Now. The following are the Audience Award Winners for Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Short Film–and for the first time–Student […]

HIFF42 Audience Award Winners Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: The Art of Survival in ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED

ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani ALL THE BEAUTY AND BLOODSHED tells the story of an artist caught in political warfare fueled by federal denial of Big Pharma and the blood money that funds it. Director Laura Poitras celebrates authenticity by

HOCCI @ HIFF42: The Art of Survival in ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: THE WIND AND THE RECKONING is epic, emotional, and authentic

THE WIND AND THE RECKONING was the Opening Night Film for the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. The film is currently in commercial release.  The powerhouse duo, Jason Scott Lee and Lindsay Watson, take part in a masterpiece by bringing to light the incredible Hawaiian story of Koʻolau and Piʻilani with THE

HOCCI @ HIFF42: THE WIND AND THE RECKONING is epic, emotional, and authentic Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: THE WIND AND THE RECKONING Review

THE WIND AND THE RECKONING was the Opening Night Film for the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. The film is currently in commercial release.  Filmed in just 16 days during a worldwide pandemic, THE WIND AND THE RECKONING is a film I’ve anticipated for over a year. I first heard of it

HOCCI @ HIFF42: THE WIND AND THE RECKONING Review Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: MY SMALL LAND Review

MY SMALL LAND was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani.  Previously known for directing the short film CIRCLE, Emma Kawawada from the Bun-buku production group makes her feature film directorial debut with MY SMALL LAND. It is a beautiful drama and bitter-sweet coming-of-age movie which follows the challenges

HOCCI @ HIFF42: MY SMALL LAND Review Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: BROKER Review

BROKER was an official selection of the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani.  Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film was perhaps my most anticipated out of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Not only was it met with rave reviews and considered a top contender for the Palme d’Or, but Kore-eda’s previous film SHOPLIFTERS was one

HOCCI @ HIFF42: BROKER Review Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: Cinema Violence in PROJECT WOLF HUNTING & HUNT

Warning: The following contains spoilers for PROJECT WOLF HUNTING (2022) and HUNT (2022). Over the course of HIFF42, I watched two South Korean films that were centered around and saturated with brutal violence: one considered it a spectacle, something that it assumed the audience wanted to see, and something that could easily be assigned moral

HOCCI @ HIFF42: Cinema Violence in PROJECT WOLF HUNTING & HUNT Read More »

HOCCI @ HIFF42: GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD Review

GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD screened at the 42nd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani When regarding the art and ingredients of making a gangster film, Quentin Tarantino stated, “a good, pulpy story or you need an aspect of criminality that you want to put under a microscope.” He also added that a satirical subtext is

HOCCI @ HIFF42: GOODBYE CRUEL WORLD Review Read More »