PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK premiered at the 45th Hawai’i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. Over the past two years, during Israel’s most recent genocidal campaign against the people of Gaza, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military, and 170,000 have been wounded, with 40,000 of those
A USEFUL GHOST premiered at the 45th Hawai’i International Film Festival. In this short form video review, HOCCI mentee Curtis Wilmington III talks about the absurd, yet multifaceted feature film, A USEFUL GHOST. This film was one of several film screenings for the HOCCI cohort this year, which featured extended discussions with guest film critics
CLIMBING FOR LIFE premiered at the 45th Hawai’i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. CLIMBING FOR LIFE is a stunning Japanese film that dives into the life of Junko Tabei: the first woman to summit Mt. Everest. Directed by Junji Sakamoto, the film is based on the autobiography, Life with its Ups and Downs, written by
THE GOLDEN SPURTLE premiered at the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. Where do I begin? Ah, the title! I must admit, before watching I had no idea what a spurtle was. An adorable creature came to mind. A quick Google search and seconds later I found out that a spurtle is a
INDIGENOUS NAʻAU premiered at the Hawaʻi International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. “If we fail to remember where we come from, who we are, and the places that shape us, then we are already lost. But our kūpuna have always left breadcrumbs for us to pick up whenever we’re ready.” –Kuʻulei Kaili, Director of INDIGENOUS
SHAKTI premiered at the 45th Hawai’i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. In this video, HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee D’Elle Martin sits down and reviews SHAKTI, a Nepalese feature film from director Nani Sahra Walker. This film was also part of New American Perspectives, a program sponsored by the Vilcek Foundation. SHAKTI
The 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 diversity in film criticism across the Pacific region and use influencer branding strategies to spark career opportunities in Hawai’i, not be hampered by oceans, state borders and distance, because geography is no longer a barrier.
The 2024/25 HOCCI supports Hawai‘i-based critics to be a HIFF45 press cohort to cover films, panels, or filmmakers at the 45th Annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. Film criticism will consists of four different focuses: writing, podcasting, video essays, and vlogs.
