HIFF44 ACM Accelerator Virtual Kick-off in HIFF’s Metaverse
PANELIST – ALIKA TENGAN
Alika Tengan is a Hapa Hawaiian/ Asian filmmaker based out of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, whose short films MAUKA TO MAKAI and MOLOKA‘I BOUND have garnered multiple awards, including “Best Short Work” at ImagineNative, which granted them Oscar Consideration for the 2021 Academy Awards and landed the film a home on the Criterion Channel. The MOLOKA’I BOUND short inspired a feature-length script which was selected for the inaugural Indigenous Black List. His first feature-length film, EVERYDAY IN KAIMUKĪ had its World Premiere in the NEXT category of Sundance 2022. His sophomore feature, MOLOKA’I BOUND will have its Hawai’i premiere at HIFF44.
PANELIST – ERIN LAU
Erin Lau is a Native Hawaiian filmmaker who has dedicated her life to creating stories that explore empathy, family, and identity. She completed her Bachelors at UH Mānoa’s Academy for Creative Media and received her MFA from Chapman University. After graduating, Erin worked as a Senior Producer-Director for Jubilee Media, where she developed community-focused content for global brands including Google, SK-II, and Always. Her short films have also screened in over 50 festivals worldwide. Her Chapman thesis THE MOON AND THE NIGHT received support from the 2017 Sundance Native Lab, was shortlisted for the Student BAFTA awards, and featured on the Criterion Channel. Her latest film INHERITANCE premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Oscar-Qualifying Best Hawai‘i Short Award at HIFF42. Most recently, Erin directed her first episode of network television for the FOX series RESCUE: HI-SURF. In the documentary space, her latest projects include directing on the Emmy-winning docuseries REEL WĀHINE OF HAWAIʻI and producing Cris Romento’s short DEAR ALOHA and Jalena Keane-Lee’s feature, STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS. All of which are screening at HIFF44.
MODERATOR – ANDERSON LE
Based in Los Angeles and Honolulu, Anderson Le diligently works in the global promotion of independent and world cinema as Artistic Director for the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF), now in its 44th year. He is also a programming consultant for the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy and was the Head of Programming for the inaugural Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival. He has previously consulted for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Toronto Reel Asian, and Singapore International Film Festival. In 2020, Le co-founded EAST FILMS, a transpacific media company whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers to excel in the global entertainment market through engaging and thought provoking content. EAST projects include ROM (2019), which won the Busan Film Festival ‘s New Currents Award; BE WATER (2020), currently on Disney+, and MAIKA (2022). Both films had their world premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.