THE ARRANGEMENTS had its world premiere at the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani as part of the Made in Hawai‘i Shorts. A conversation with director Sonny Ganaden about community, grief, childhood, and making magic with non-actors. THE ARRANGEMENTS (2025) It was during the Made in Hawai‘i Shorts at HIFF when I came […]
A Conversation with Sonny Ganaden, Director of THE ARRANGEMENTS Read More »
THE EYES OF GHANA premiered at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. THE EYES OF GHANA takes viewers on a visually striking journey through the rich and fascinating life of Reverend Chris Hesse, a Ghanaian filmmaker who served as the personal cameraman to Ghana’s first prime minister, Kwame Nkrumah. The film weaves several
Sankofa – An Exploration of THE EYES OF GHANA with Anita Afonu Read More »
In this video, HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee D’Elle Martin sits down and reviews standouts from the Endless Night Shorts (THE LITTLES, DIEU EST TIMIDE (GOD IS SHY), MAGAI-GAMI, FISHMONGER, WHITCH, WANNA DIE WANNA KILL, TAGA) a shorts program in the 45th Hawai’i International Film Festival. Check out D’Elle channel here: youtube.com/@dj3martin
Endless Nights Shorts | Video Essay Read More »
SOUND OF FALLING premiered at the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani “Deadline as a word used to fascinate me,” writes Yiyun Li in her novel Where Reasons End, “a word that connects time and space and death with such absoluteness.” Deadlines have fatigued our lives, becoming a banality more disrespected than not
SOUND OF FALLING Review Read More »
ON THE OTHER ISLAND: New Films and New Visions from the Dominican Republic was a Shorts Program from the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani The 2025 HOCCI Cohort Reviews Three Films From ON THE OTHER ISLAND: New Films and New Visions from the Dominican Republic At HIFF45, the short film program ON
ON THE OTHER ISLAND – Three Dominican Films Reviewed by HOCCI Read More »
In Richard Brody’s essay “In Defense of the Traditional Review” for The New Yorker, he delivers a compelling call to action for the preservation of written film criticism in an age increasingly dominated by short-form content, video essays, vlogs, and social media posts. Brody argues that the traditional written review remains essential—not only as a
HOCCI: HIFF45 screenings w/ Film Critic led After-Film Discussions Read More »
The 2025 HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) program, powered by Critical Minded, supports sustainable film criticism in Hawai‘i through mentorship and paid career opportunities. The mission of HOCCI is to broaden and strengthen film criticism culture in Hawaiʻi across a new media multi-disciplinary approach–via online (blog, magazine) review writing, but also via more prominent mediums such
Introducing the 2025 HOCCI Cohort Read More »
The 2025 HIFILM StorytellersLab (HSL), sponsored by The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), brought together a dynamic group of filmmakers and writers for a transformative retreat at the historic Nutridge Estate. Designed to support the development of short screenplays adapted from original Hawai‘i literary works—including books, plays, poems, short stories, and moʻolelo—HSL was a rare opportunity to
2025 HIFILM Storytellers Lab Read More »
Hawai’i Screenwriting: Craft and Breaking Through In this panel, presented as part of the Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) ‘Ōpio Fest, HIFF brings together three of Hawaiʻi’s most accomplished screenwriters for an illuminating conversation about craft, career, and cultural representation. Join Chris Kekaniokalani Bright (LILO & STITCH), Bryson Chun (MOANA 2, DOOGIE KAMEALOHA, M.D.), and
HIFF ‘ŌPIO FEST – HAWAI’I SCREENWRITING PANEL Read More »
If you want to watch a short film that is blunt, in-your-face, and smacks you out of nowhere, look no further than the short MANIFESTO [FOR CONCRETE POETRY], directed by Richard Hamasaki, Jody Stillwater & Sebastian Galasso. The imagery, editing combined with the avant-garde archival use of texture and imagery, bring to life the poem
