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 »
A Film Festival Celebrating Student Filmmakers in Hawai’i. The Hawai’i International Film Festival ‘Ōpio Fest is an inaugural youth film festival, which will take place in Honolulu from April 5-7, 2024. The three-day family event is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating short films made by Hawai’i’s young filmmakers. With the guidance of the HIFF team,
HIFF ‘Ōpio Fest Submission Deadline Read More »
KĀHULI, SEEING WITH HAWAIIAN EYES, and KEEPER OF THE BAY, all official selections of the 43rd Hawai‘i International Film Festival, are three documentaries bringing awareness to topics such as climate change, rapid extinction and decline of native plants and animals, sustainable Hawaiian practices, and some of the people who are working to preserve this ʻāina.
Bully Kotter, also known as ‘Uncle Bully,’ teaches children how to surf at a camp in Lahaina, Maui. He is the subject of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival’s co-opening film, UNCLE BULLY’S SURF SKOOL, a documentary by Maui-based filmmakers Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday which began shooting during the pandemic. One of the kids Bully
Lahaina doc UNCLE BULLY’S SURF SKOOL delivers message of hope Read More »
As exclusively reported in Variety, the 43rd edition of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF43) presented by Halekulani announced its jury winners and celebrated its Awards Gala Honorees at a private event held at the Halekulani Hotel. In its 2023 iteration, the organization awarded $23,500 in cash prizes to filmmakers across respective categories. HIFF43 HONOREES
HIFF43 Announces Honorees & Jury Award Winners Read More »
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
HIFILM: The hub for Hawai’i’s industry professionals, creatives, and film fans Read More »
The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival is wrapping up this weekend and the HIFF programmers—Artistic Director, Anderson Le and Director of Programming, Anna Page—are wrapping up their annual programming trip. With numerous screenings and meetings with distributors and sales agents, it was a whirlwind ten days to seek out and secure the best in world cinema for the upcoming HIFF43 this coming
HIFF Programming Team Report From Cannes Film Festival Read More »
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
HIFF SPRING SHOWCASE returns to 100% in-person | Gala Films: JAMOJAYA and SUZUME Read More »
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
2023 Spring Showcase Program Announced Read More »
HIFF is excited to announce the Hawai’i premiere of the Sundance hit POLITE SOCIETY, the feature directorial debut from Nida Manzoor (WE ARE LADY PARTS). Ria is a martial artist-in-training, who believes she must save her older sister from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, she tries to pull off the most
Sundance Hit: POLITE SOCIETY at 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.