As the dust settles from the just concluded 44th Hawai‘I International Film Festival presented by Halekulani (HIFF44), the festival staff is currently going through wrap-up reports, crunching numbers, and analyzing data. On the programming side, it’s several post-mortems as we reflect on some of our personal film favorites, in the hopes that we can amplify them post-festival so audiences can track them and check them out when they eventually end up online or on a streaming service down the road.
Therefore, here are our programmers’ favorite features and shorts from HIFF44, along with info on where to check them out!
Anderson Le, HIFF Artistic Director
Feature Film Recommendation: ESCAPE FROM THE 21st CENTURY (Director: Li Yang)
What if a sneeze could transport your 18-year-old soul into your 20-years-older self? What if, by chance, this led to saving the world? Maximalist filmmaking to da max! Did I say it was max, max, max? A grotesquerie of sci fi/time travel/cosmic ideas, this film is about paying homage, remixing, and pushing the boundaries of what’s already out there and creating a live action anime as a hallucinogenic fever dream.
Currently, ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY is only available for streaming on Chinese platforms such as Tencent Video, Bilibili, and Mango TV.
Short Film Recommendation: DREAM CREEP (Director: Carlos A.F. Lopez)
Director Carlos A.F. Lopez and his team have crafted a horror short that could be a great idea to be the next big Blumhouse franchise. When David awakens in the night to cries for help emanating from his partner Suzy’s earhole. DREAM CREEP is borne out of our everyday nightmares, a harrowing and jarring supernatural emergency that feels both ordinary yet otherworldly. For David and Suzy, this compelling voice demands actions that will either save them or, perhaps, perpetuate the nightmare, cranking up the tension to 11!
DREAM CREEP will continue to play as part of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour and will continue its festival run at Pittsburgh Shorts and the Bogotá Short Film Festival. The film is also available to watch on short film streaming platform, SAMANSA.
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Melina Kiyomi Coumas, Programming Manager & Shorts Programmer
Feature Film Recommendation: YINTAH (Directors: Jennifer Wickham, Brenda Michell, Michael Toledano)
An incredible documentary following an Indigenous Nation’s fight for sovereignty as they resist the construction of multiple oil and gas pipelines across their territory. This film offers a rare insight into the strategic planning and resilience of an ongoing resistance movement and showcases how truly insidious Big Oil and the Canadian government are in their tactics to displace Native Peoples from their lands. Essential viewing for all!
YINTAH is currently available to watch on Netflix. The scholar essay, written by Malia Osorio as part of our Film for Thought (FFT) program, can also be read here.
Short Film Recommendation: GOOSE QUEST (Director: Clarisse Chua)
At first glance this short offers simple, old-school video game play with an 8-bit aesthetic, but unexpectedly evolves into an examination of death and grief. With a nostalgic style and unique charm, Clarisse Chua constructs an endearing and moving portrait of a little goose on a quest to resurrect her pet hamster.
GOOSE QUEST is currently available to watch on Viddsee.
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Sean Oketani, Programming & Education Associate
Feature Film Recommendation: MOLOKA‘I BOUND (Director: Alika Tengan)
MOLOKA’I BOUND (winner of the Kau Ka Hōkū Award) became one of my favorite features of the festival from its opening sequence: my hometown Kaneohe and the windward side of O’ahu projected onto the big screen. This film is deserving of all its festival recognition, as director Alika Tengan’s vision is both ambitious and emotionally resonant for local audiences, weaving in social commentary that illuminates the complexity of Hawai’i’s issues. The film’s final sequence in Moloka’i has lingered with me long after viewing.
Although there is currently no information on where to watch MOLOKA’I BOUND, make sure to visit their website and Instagram for updates on upcoming screenings!
Short Film Recommendations: LAST LIGHT (Dir. Koa Bayani) and ILY, BYE (Dir. Taylor James)
Director Koa Bayani manages to masterfully weave tension, chaos, despair, and comedy into this 17 minute film. The short immerses you into highly intense film production on a beach in Hawai’i, following the POV of a filmmaker who lost touch with his priorities after living in LA for ten years. Screened as part of the MADE IN HAWAII: NARRATIVE PLENTITUDE shorts block, it served as the perfect opening piece and a standout in this year’s program.
There is currently no information on where to watch LAST LIGHT. However, make sure to check out Koa’s website to view his work!
ILY, BYE is the funniest short film I watched at HIFF this year and director Taylor James just *gets* it. With a break-neck, unrelenting pace and razor-sharp line delivery from actress and internet icon, Meg Stalter, this short is a must-watch for fans of comedy, especially for women and members of the queer community.
ILY, BYE is premiering online November 22nd, on Vimeo Staff Picks and Short Of The Week!
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Kristy Miki Munakata, Programming Associate
Feature Film Recommendation: THE MOTHERLOAD (Directors: Van Tran Nguyen, Alex Derwick)
Starring Van Tran Nguyen and her real life mother, Sang Tran, THE MOTHERLOAD is a multi-narrative exploration of diasporic realities and homeland. With Van and Sang’s satirical reenactments of Vietnam War films, weapons made out of cardboard, and puppets, the film deflates the imperialistic representations of Vietnam and Vietnamese people through absurdity. Creative, funny, and heartfelt — this is a must watch!
THE MOTHERLOAD will have a theatrical release in 2025. In the meantime, make sure to check out Van’s website to view her work!
Short Film Recommendation: PRIMETIME MOTHER (Director: Sonny Calvento)
One of the films that played in HIFF’s STRANGE FUTURES section, PRIMETIME MOTHER explores motherhood against the backdrop of an exploitative game show called “My Amazing Mama.” Minda, the protagonist, competes against other mothers to win the daily cash prize for her sick son, and is subjected to increasingly ridiculous and humiliating challenges. The film’s striking visuals and production design, along with elements of magical realism, make for an entertaining and unsettling watch.
There is currently no information on where to watch PRIMETIME MOTHER. However, make sure to check out Sonny’s Instagram to view his work!
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Gary Chun, Programming Associate
Feature Film Recommendation: ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (Director: Payal Kapadia)
Director Payal Kapadia has deservedly received acclaim after her film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by screenings at HIFF. As I said in my original synopsis, Kapadia’s first narrative film is “a sensitive and subdued portrait of the lives of two hospital workers finding their way through the urban sprawl that is Mumbai, and how they deal with complicated affairs of the heart. Lead actors Kani Kasruti and Divya Prabhal are excellent and expressive in their performances.”
Winner of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT is currently playing in U.S. theaters in a slow rollout across the country, courtesy of Janus Films.
Short Film Recommendation: BECAUSE OF YOU, I AM (Director: Doug Menuez)
I immediately told film co-producer Pear Urashima in the Q&A that followed that its luminous black-and-white presentation helped make it an especially strong film. With moments of sheer poetry, it’s an excellent portrait of San Jose Taiko’s PJ & Roy Hirabayashi who, across five decades, have championed the drum tradition to help build community and strengthen the Japanese American identity.
Although there is currently no information on where to watch BECAUSE OF YOU, I AM, people can sign up for the film’s mailing list to receive updates on upcoming screenings.
