HIFF44 is proud to announce this year’s nominated films competing in the following Jury Award categories below. To read up on this year’s international jury members, head over to the HIFF Awards Page. All jury award winners will be announced at the HIFF44 Awards Gala on October 12th at Halekulani. And the nominees are…
Made in Hawai‘i Award for Best Feature & Best Short presented by FilmHawaii with cash prizes made possible by The Nichols Family Film Fund: Select fiction, non-fiction features and short films that are made by locally-based filmmakers or involve locally-based stories are eligible for one of two Best Made in Hawai‘i film awards with cash prizes totaling $10,000.
- Made in Hawai‘i Feature Film Nominees:
CHAPERONE | KANIELA: THE DANIEL KALEIKINI STORY | MOLOKA‘I BOUND | ONE MILLION DOLLA | PERSEVERE | SHAKA, THE STORY OF ALOHA | STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS | TERRESTRIAL - Made in Hawai‘i Short Film Nominees:
DEAR ALOHA | DECODING ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE | FAIR | HEALING LAHAINA | HULI | I’M TRYING MY BEST RIGHT NOW | KAI HALI‘A (Sea of Memory) | KŪKINI | LAST LIGHT | MANIFESTO {For Concrete Poetry] | MĀNOA VALLEY | OLI KAHULI | THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS | TWO BREATHS | RECLAIM | VICTORIA | WATERS OF PU‘ULOA | WOVEN
Best Short Film Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines: Short films help establish tone, style and a filmmaker’s creative vision to form the foundation of a budding career. These works can also be proof of concepts or progenitors to a feature film, but they must stand alone as their own succinct and unique work. It is always a welcome challenge by the HIFF team to sift through thousands of entries each year to curate these popular Shorts programs. HIFF is the only event in the State of Hawai‘i that is an Academy Awards®-qualifying Festival. The winning films in the HIFF Best Short Film and HIFF Best Made in Hawai‘i Short Film categories are eligible to qualify for the Oscars, provided that the films meet all the requirements.
A SUMMER’S END POEM | BECAUSE OF YOU, I AM | CHAMORU: A LOST LANGUAGE | COMPLICATIONS | DALY CITY | ELECTRA | END OF SUMMER | FRACTAL | GAME RULES | GRUB | INDAI APAI DARAH (MOTHER, FATHER, BLOOD) | MAMU | PLAY DATE | TALK TO ME | TAYAL FOREST CLUB | THE MASTERPIECE | THE SALMON FOREST PROJECT | THREE | WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU | WE EXIST IN MEMORY | UNIBROW
Kau Ka Hōkū Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines: The prestigious HIFF KAU KA HŌKŪ (Shooting Star) Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines is the Festivals international award presented to the best emerging filmmaker (first or second feature film) at the Festival. Both fiction and non-fiction feature films are nominated and adjudicated by an esteemed international jury.
AGENT OF HAPPINESS | CHINATOWN CHA CHA | DESERT OF NAMIBIA | DON’T CRY BUTTERFLY | ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY | HAPPYEND | HOMEGROWN | MOLOKA‘I BOUND | STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS | UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE | YINTAH | ZURAWSKI V TEXAS
Pasifika Award presented by Pacific Islanders in Communications: HIFF in partnership with Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) presents a Pasifika Award for Best Feature Film celebrating the authentic and high quality narrative and documentary features across the Pacific region. This competition jury, comprised of film professionals of Pacific Islander descent, selects the best of films by and about Pacific Islanders. The winning film receives a cash prize of $5,000.
KA WHAWHAI TONU: STRUGGLE WITHOUT END | MARIMARI | MOLOKA‘I BOUND | MYTHS AND MAIDENS | STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS | THE MOUNTAIN | TINĀ | VOICE | WE WERE DANGEROUS
NETPAC Award: The Network for the Promotion of Asian-Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) is an international organization dedicated to promoting Asian and Pacific film throughout the world. The NETPAC award is given at select international Festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Rotterdam, Busan, Singapore, Taiwan, Yamagata, Amiens and Hawaii – to promote Asian and Pacific cinema by spotlighting exceptional talent. HIFF is the only Film Festival in the USA given permission to present the NETPAC award.
DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY | DON’T CRY BUTTERFLY | FLY ME TO THE MOON | HUNTER BROTHERS | KA WHAWHAI TONU: STRUGGLE WITHOUT END | PROMISED LAND | SISAM | SISTER MIDNIGHT | TINĀ | WE WERE DANGEROUS | WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN
Other Non-Jury Awards:
HIFF Deep Blue Environmental Short Award presented by the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office: HIFF has a longstanding commitment to showcase film and conversation that shine a light on the climate crisis, and the innovative ways populations are making our world more sustainable. HIFF is honored to partner with the US Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office to present a Deep Blue Environmental Short award. A $5,000 cash prize is awarded to the best short film that covers ocean-or water-based environmental topics and/or a Powering the Blue Economy™ theme, which involves the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems.eme, which involves the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems.
HIFF BMW Hawaii Driven Student Filmmaker Award presented by BMW Honolulu: HIFF and BMW HAWAII are thrilled to announce a new award dedicated to celebrating and supporting a local university student filmmaker. This year, HIFF’s student screening committee will select the ‘best short film’ from the University Showcase shorts program to be presented with the HIFFx BMW of HAWAI’I DRIVEN Student Filmmaker Award and cash prize meant to fund film scholarship, courtesy of BMW of Honolulu. The winning film will be announced at the “Meet the Filmmakers” Reception on October 9th.
HIFF Audience Choice Award presented by Hawaii News Now: Your Vote Counts! Vote for your favorite Feature, Documentary, Short and Student films playing at HIFF44! Voting is accessible to all audiences via QR codes at screenings. Winning films are announced in a special Hawaii News Now broadcast following the completion of the full HIFF44 Festival.
