From the Civil Rights Movement and Harlem Renaissance to contemporary Nigeria, post-genocide Rwanda, and the revolutionary art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, HIFF46 celebrates Black history, creativity, identity, and cultural legacy through seven extraordinary films.
The 46th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani celebrates the richness, diversity, and global influence of the Black experience and African diaspora through an extraordinary selection of films spanning Africa, Europe, and the United States.
From powerful documentaries examining the foundations of American democracy to intimate dramas of love, family, and identity, these stories explore artistic expression, historical memory, and the ongoing struggle for justice and self-determination. The lineup also features some of the year’s most compelling performances, including two acclaimed turns by Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo in CLARISSA and MOUSE, both generating awards-season conversation.\
Together, these seven films share a common thread: the importance of reclaiming narratives, preserving cultural memory, and celebrating the voices that continue to shape our world.
14th
Director: Ava DuVernay | Documentary
A decade after her groundbreaking, Academy Award-nominated documentary 13th, acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay returns with another urgent examination of American democracy. This time, she turns her attention to the 14th Amendment, exploring its complicated history and its promises of citizenship, equality, and constitutional protection.
Through archival research and conversations with scholars, legal experts, and political figures across the ideological spectrum, 14th traces the ongoing struggle over civil rights and belonging in America. Provocative and deeply relevant, DuVernay’s latest documentary reminds us that the fight for equality remains unfinished.
THE BADDEST SPEECHWRITER OF ALL
Directors: Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry | Documentary
Behind some of the most consequential words of the Civil Rights Movement stood Clarence B. Jones, the lawyer, confidant, and speechwriter to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In this extraordinary documentary, Jones recounts his experiences at the heart of a movement that changed America.
Co-directed by two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot and basketball superstar Stephen Curry, making his directorial debut, the film combines intimate testimony with stunning hand-painted watercolor animation. Winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, it is a moving tribute to an often-overlooked architect of history.
The film screens alongside Proudfoot’s MINK!, about Hawai‘i’s own pioneering Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink, with a special extended conversation with Proudfoot following both films—an especially meaningful pairing about the people who helped transform American democracy.
CLARISSA
Directors: Chuko Esiri and Arie Esiri | Nigeria / United States
Following its world premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, twin filmmakers Chuko and Arie Esiri deliver a sumptuous reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s MRS. DALLOWAY, transporting the literary classic from 1920s London to contemporary Lagos.
Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo leads a remarkable ensemble that includes David Oyelowo, India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh, and Ayo Edebiri. As Clarissa prepares for an elegant gathering, unexpected reunions stir memories of love, regret, and roads not taken. Gorgeously photographed on 35mm, the film explores class, colonialism, identity, and the expectations placed upon women in contemporary Nigerian society.
Lyrical, emotionally rich, and visually exquisite, CLARISSA is a striking example of African storytelling in dialogue with the global literary canon.
MOUSE
Directors: Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson | United States
Fresh from its acclaimed world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, MOUSE is a beautifully observed coming-of-age drama from the directors of GHOSTLIGHT. Set in Arkansas in 2002, the film follows shy teenager Minnie (Katherine Mallen Kupferer), whose close friendship with charismatic classmate Callie is suddenly upended. Searching for belonging, Minnie develops an increasingly complicated attachment to Callie’s mother Helen, played with extraordinary emotional precision by Sophie Okonedo.
Tender, perceptive, and quietly devastating, MOUSE features two of the year’s most remarkable performances from Okonedo and newcomer Kupferer. The film is also nominated for HIFF’s prestigious Kau Ka Hōkū Award, presented by Hawaiian Airlines.
BEN’IMANA
Director: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo | Rwanda
Rwanda’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, BEN’IMANA is a powerful examination of trauma, forgiveness, and reconciliation in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Set in 2012, the film follows Veneranda, a genocide survivor who organizes conversations between victims and the families of perpetrators as Rwanda struggles to confront its painful history. When a deeply personal revelation threatens her own family, Veneranda must reckon with the contradictions between forgiveness and justice.
Directed with remarkable sensitivity by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, BEN’IMANA is a deeply humane portrait of a nation and its people navigating the difficult path toward healing. It is also a testament to the emergence of powerful new voices in African cinema, confronting difficult histories through intimate, deeply personal storytelling.
JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT
Directors: Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman | Documentary
Few artists have transformed contemporary culture as profoundly as Jean-Michel Basquiat. Yet behind the iconic paintings and astronomical auction prices lies a deeply personal story of a young Black artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent navigating fame, identity, and the New York art world.
The first documentary approved by Basquiat’s estate, this intimate portrait features unprecedented access to his sisters, Lisane and Jeanine, along with close friends and collaborators. Through rare archival materials and previously unseen works, the film moves beyond the mythology to reveal the man behind the legend.
A celebration of artistic rebellion, cultural identity, and the lasting influence of the African and Caribbean diaspora, JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT offers a fresh perspective on one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM
Director: David Greaves | Documentary
One of the great archival discoveries of recent cinema, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM transports audiences to an extraordinary gathering in 1972, when pioneering Black filmmaker William Greaves assembled legendary figures of the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s townhouse.
Featuring cultural giants including Romare Bearden, James Van Der Zee, Eubie Blake, and Aaron Douglas, the film captures an intimate evening of conversation, reflection, and spirited debate among the artists and intellectuals who helped redefine Black American culture.
More than five decades later, Greaves’ son David brings this remarkable footage to the screen, restoring a priceless cultural record. Following premieres at Sundance and Cannes, this extraordinary documentary is both a celebration of Black artistic excellence and a vital act of cultural preservation.
Stories that connect us
Together, these seven films offer a sweeping portrait of Black history, creativity, and identity across generations and continents. From the revolutionary artistic legacy of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the cultural giants of Harlem to the political struggles of the Civil Rights Movement, the complexities of reconciliation in Rwanda, and the deeply personal stories of contemporary Black women, these films demonstrate the extraordinary breadth of storytelling emerging from the African diaspora and beyond. They also remind us that Black storytelling is not a monolith. It is as diverse, dynamic, and expansive as the communities and artists who bring these stories to life.
Discover extraordinary cinema. Celebrate diverse voices. Experience the world through film at HIFF46.
