ON THE OTHER ISLAND: New Films and New Visions from the Dominican Republic was a Shorts Program from the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani The 2025 HOCCI Cohort Reviews Three Films From ON THE OTHER ISLAND: New Films and New Visions from the Dominican Republic At HIFF45, the short film program ON
The votes have been tabulated and the audience has spoken. Here are the 45th Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani (HIFF45) Audience Award winners presented by Hawaii News Now: HIFF45 Audience Award for Narrative Feature: RENTAL FAMILY (USA, Japan) Director: HIKARI HIFF45 Audience Award for Documentary Feature: MĀLAMA MĀKUA (Hawai‘i, USA) Director: Mikey Inouye
(L to R) Directors Kimberlee Bassford (BEFORE THE MOON FALLS) & Marty Schweitzer (LAHAINA RISING) posing with their HIFF45 Made In Hawai‘i Awards at the HIFF45 Awards Ceremony, which was held at Halekulani October 23, 2025 (Honolulu, HI) – The 45th edition of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF45) presented by Halekulani announced its jury
As HIFF45’s Closing weekend at Kahala is upon us, we’ve just added a few more screenings for closing weekend—especially our just announced HIFF45 Jury Award Winners. 10/24 4:30pm – BEFORE THE MOON FALLS Made In Hawai‘i Award Winner / Consolidated Kahala 6:15pm – LAHAINA RISING – Made In Hawai‘i Award Winner / Consolidated Kahala 10/25
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of sights to see at HIFF45? Your tour guides to all things film at the Festival, the HIFF programmers, have compiled lists of their personal top picks to help you get the most out of your cinematic journey. Anderson’s Recommendations FWENDS An occasionally awkward reunion between a pair of pals
In Richard Brody’s essay “In Defense of the Traditional Review” for The New Yorker, he delivers a compelling call to action for the preservation of written film criticism in an age increasingly dominated by short-form content, video essays, vlogs, and social media posts. Brody argues that the traditional written review remains essential—not only as a
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.
