HOCCI’s Sean Oketani sits down with filmmaker Hunter Naho‘oikaika to discuss her film, SEEING WITH HAWAIIAN EYES, an official selection of the 43rd Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani (HIFF43) and screened in the Kānaka Maoli Legacy: New Hawaiian Docs program. Here is the film’s synopsis: Lehia establishes an indigenous farm with her partner […]
The deadly fire in Lāhainā should have never happened. It could have been prevented if the ʻāina (land) had been properly cared for, as it once was before land changes occurred that made the area dangerously dry. Lāhainā is a very important place to Kānaka Maoli, it was once the capital of the Kingdom of
Ka Nani o Lāhainā (The Beauty of Lāhainā) in UNCLE BULLY’S SURF SKOOL & MY PARTNER Read More »
Kia’i, a word in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) that translates to guardian or protector, is a major theme of KEEPER OF THE BAY, an environmental documentary that recently had its Hawai‘i premiere at the 43rd Hawai‘i Interational Film Festival (HIFF43). In a world where development and industrialization have often encroached upon the delicate balance of
The Kia’i in KEEPER OF THE BAY Read More »
THE ALIʻI KING and KA ʻĀʻUMEʻUME: NAVIGATING HOME are two films presenting Hawaiian diaspora experiences on-screen and told by Hawaiian filmmakers who are in the diaspora (living outside of Hawaiʻi) themselves. THE ALIʻI KING is a narrative short film taking place in the 1960s detailing a Hawaiian-German immigrant family road-tripping from Utah to Anaheim, California
Vicious zombies, grisly action set-pieces, and shocking gore are not a regular occurrence in Hawai‘i indie films. If that doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, then DECADE OF THE DEAD is not for you. But for those who are able to stomach such intense visuals, and even enjoy them in a perverse
DECADE OF THE DEAD is the zombie bite that Hawai‘i indie filmmaking needs Read More »
Enemies to lovers is a romance trope that has run itself to the ground ten times over. Some movies do this well, but it always somehow feels a little familiar. So what better way to add some freshness to this genre than to make a Boys Love film set in Maui with two high schoolers
MY PARTNER is a necessary addition to the ‘Boys Love’ genre 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.
(L to R) The Rise of Hawa‘i Cinema HIFILM Panelists: Brian Kealana; Ty Sanga; Moses Goods; Ciara Lacy; Kristian “Krit” Fanene Schmidt; Kalikolehua Hurley I had the privilege of attending THE RISE OF HAWAI‘I CINEMA, a HIFILM Panel presented by Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti (PEAK), which took place on October 9th during the 43rd Hawai‘i
Reflecting on the RISE OF HAWAI‘I CINEMA Panel Read More »
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 part of HIFILM (HIFF43’s “Industry Hub”), comes the return of HOMETOWN HEROES, a now perennial panel that explores the “State of 808 State Filmmaking,” and it’s trajectory as a burgeoning and sustainable indie film & tv industry in the ideation and production of authentic local stories. This year’s HOMETOWN HEROES panel is a little
HIFILM spotlights upcoming film about Hawai‘i’s greatest night in sports history 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.