- Writing
- Podcasts
- Video Essays
- Vlogs
- Social Media
The 2025 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 and strengthen film criticism culture in Hawaiʻi across a new media multi-disciplinary approach–via online (blog, magazine) review writing, but also via more prominent mediums such as vlogs, web video commentary content creation, podcast recordings and social media platforms.
Cohort participants will acquire skills around learning the nuts and bolts of filmmaking via film language, how to report on films and television from a unique point of view by becoming one’s own media outlet, and how to sustainably create content online remotely (i.e. not based in LA or NY). Cohort participants will also be given a special press pass to HIFF45 to view and review films, support with promoting and publishing their film reviews, and individualized one-on-one mentor support throughout HIFF45. Each mentee will receive payment for their produced work, per Critical Minded’s mission statement as a grantmaking and learning initative that supports cultural critics of color in the United States.
The application for 2025 HOCCI is currently closed.
HOCCI PROGRAMMING
FWENDS
Directed by Sophie Somerville
October 18, 7:00 PM — Consolidated Kahala
FWENDS follows two thirty-somethings adrift in modern Sydney. Em, a junior lawyer, endures an abusive workplace just to afford her sky-high rent, while Jessie, a former stripper and world traveler, wrestles with the void left by a long-term breakup. What begins as a casual reunion unfolds into a spontaneous weekend of city wanderings and late-night confessions, peeling back layers of ambition, loneliness, and existential dread.
Director Sophie Somerville—who co-wrote the film with stars Emmanuelle Mattana and Melissa Gan—infuses the dialogue with spiky, naturalistic repartee that feels partly improvised. Somerville’s playful touch extends to Mike Tilbrook’s lilting piano score and Rizky Pratama’s sound design, which place viewers squarely in the characters’ nocturnal drift. Inspired by early Richard Linklater (SLACKER in particular), Jim Jarmusch, and the anarchic spirit of Broad City, Fwends becomes an ambling, tender portrait of friendship, loss, and rediscovery—celebrating the messy, fleeting connections that give life its quiet meaning.
A USEFUL GHOST
Directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
October 19, 11:30 AM — Consolidated Kahala
March (Witsarut Himmarat) is mourning his wife Nat (Thai superstar Davika Hoorne) who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has returned by possessing the vacuum cleaner. Being disturbed by a ghost that appeared after a worker’s death shut down their factory, his family reject the unconventional human-ghost relationship. Trying to convince them of their love, Nat offers to cleanse the factory. To become a useful ghost, she must first get rid of the useless ones.
A USEFUL GHOST—which world premiered at Cannes, winning the top prize at Critics Week—is a revenge film disguised as a dark comedy. With incredible control of tones, pace and characterization, writer-director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke blends comedy, sci-fi and even horror to deliver a genre-bending gem that keeps on giving until the end, when all of a sudden, everything makes sense. One moment we are laughing when a little girl notices a hoover wandering about; the next, there’s talk of electrocution and memory erasure, and just when we think we know where the film is headed, Boonbunchachoke defies our expectations once more, be it with an awkwardly sweet sex scene or with a political twist.
ON THE OTHER ISLAND: New Films and New Visions from the Dominican Republic
Shorts Program
October 26, 2:30 PM — Consolidated Kahala
In the Dominican Republic, cinema is a relatively new tool, which means that, due to its novelty, it can bear witness to what it means to live here, socially, politically, and poetically. The films in this program are made through the eyes and voices of young students, as well as some veterans, such as Jaime Guerra. Most of these films are self-financed or produced in university contexts, such as the Chavón Film Department, and deal indiscriminately with fiction, documentary and essay film, questioning the nature of what a film should be. Let us consider a cinema of the smaller form, which expresses itself by experimenting and taking risks with language and its tools: from the tactile explorations of nature and family memories (Sin Título, Campanario), to the development of a new way of seeing by means of the liberation of the camera (Cumpleaños en San Carlos, Camino de Vuelta) to the questioning of our present, our history and our memory through the creation of artefacts that provoke their trembling (Diablo, La Administración del Rubio), and finally, using cinema to reconstruct broken spaces with affection (Ariel, Depeyize). Programme curated by Julia Scrive-Loyer and Diego Cepeda
FILMS INCLUDED: SIN TÍTULO, CAMPANARIO, CUMPLEAÑOS EN SAN CARLOS, ARIEL, CAMINO DE VUELTA, LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE RUBIO, DEPEYIZÉ, & DIABLO.
Testimonials
“HOCCI was such a meaningful experience for me. It gave me the space to grow as both a creator and a critic, connect with others who are passionate about film and storytelling, and learn through various workshops, each offering different approaches and perspectives. These experiences helped me grow creatively, and I am grateful for the mentorship, community, and opportunities HOCCI opened up.”
“HOCCI gave me behind-the-scenes insight into the festival world, sharpened my film critic skills, and connected me with awesome people - truly unforgettable!"
“HOCCI is an incredible program that gives TREMENDOUS value. The lessons learned, films watched, and friends made are just the tip of the iceberg. The experience is one of a kind and the memories are truly unforgettable.”
Past HOCCI Mentors
Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou, Vancouver-based creators of the wildly popular YouTube video essay series EVERY FRAME A PAINTING.
Dino-Ray Ramos is an award-winning journalist who served as editor at Deadline Hollywood and founder of the media platform DIASPORA, spotlighting voices making systemic change in film, TV and pop culture.
Jen Yamato is a freelance journalist and film critic who has written about Hollywood blockbusters, independent films, and international film festivals.
Emerson Goo is a Deaf writer, film programmer, and planner/landscape designer from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.
David Chen is a video essayist, content creator, and podcaster known for his podcasts Decoding TV & The Filmcast.
Patrick Willems is a video essayist, filmmaker, and YouTuber known for his engaging and insightful video essays on film and pop culture.
The 2024 HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE is supported by Critical Minded, a grantmaking and learning initiative that supports cultural critics of color in the United States.
David Chen is the host and producer of podcasts such as The Filmcast, The Tobolowsky Files, and A Cast of Kings. Episodes of his shows are downloaded over 100,000 times each week. Previously, David has worked as a marketer at Amazon and Microsoft and as a Research Associate at Harvard Business School.
David is also a video essayist and filmmaker. His video work has been featured or mentioned in online publications such as Rolling Stone, Buzzfeed, Slate, Vulture, Indiewire, Laughing Squid, Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Metro.co.uk, Vimeo Staff Picks, Allocine, and Digg. In 2014, he directed a film, The Primary Instinct. In 2015, he released a looping cello EP. David currently lives in Seattle, WA.
Patrick Willems is a filmmaker and video essayist based in New York. Patrick rose to prominence following the viral success of his short film “What if Wes Anderson Directed X-Men.” Since then, his channel has grown to focus on film commentary and analysis in videos that blend non-fiction essays with cinematic narrative storytelling. In 2022 he released his first feature film, NIGHT OF THE COCONUT.
Taylor Ramos & Tony Zhou are a Vancouver-based filmmaking duo. She draws, he edits, and they write and direct together. They are the co-creators of the YouTube video essay series Every Frame a Painting and served as writer/director/producers on the David Fincher-produced Netflix series VOIR. Their collaborative work has also been featured on FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection.
Taylor has worked as a 2D animator for television for almost a decade. Her credits include Hilda, The Last Kids on Earth, Dogs in Space, Pinecone and Pony, and The Legend of the Three Caballeros.
Tony has worked as an editor in features, commercials and animation since 2007. His credits include The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, The Friendship Game, Dragons: Rescue Riders and the upcoming series Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City.
Kirsten Stevens & Duncan Caillard are Melbourne-based researchers and film programmers. Kirsten’s research on film festivals and the Australian film industry includes a forthcoming book exploring the impact of streaming services on national feature film industries. Duncan’s research focuses on contemporary Asian-Pacific screen culture, and he is the current Vice-President of the digital film journal Senses of Cinema.