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  • WRITING
  • PODCASTING
  • VIDEO ESSAYS
  • VLOGGING

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 HOCCI supports Hawai‘i-based AANHPI critics to be a HIFF44 press cohort to cover films, panels, or filmmakers at the 44th Annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani. Film criticism will consists of four different focuses: writing, podcasting, video essays, and vlogs.

HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE

Applications are Now Open

 

DEADLINE TO APPLY: Friday, September 13, 2024
NOTIFICATION: by September 18, 2024
FESTIVAL DATES: October 2-17, 2024 (Oʻahu dates)
 
WHO SHOULD APPLY:
  • Candidates should be 18+
  • Currently enrolled in college/university, OR you consider yourself early in your career
  • Can demonstrate a strong interest/background in film/internet media
  • Must be on Oʻahu and able to attend the festival during October 2-17, 2024
  • Willing to participate in quarterly meetings with cohort throughout 2024 (via Zoom)
  • Priority given to AANHPI and Hawaiʻi-based applicants, all are welcome to apply
*This is a PAID opportunity with a stipend issued once required materials are produced.
HOCCI APPLICATION FORM

SESSION MENTORS

Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou, Vancouver-based creators of the wildly popular YouTube video essay series EVERY FRAME A PAINTING—which has amassed 2 million subscribers—are coming back to HIFF, after their wildly successful masterclass in 2022! From YouTube videos to Netflix series (VOIR) and indie features to animation studios, the duo have worked on projects big and small, for themselves and others. Join them for the Hawai‘i premiere of their short film, THE SECOND, starring Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (KIM’S CONVENIENCE, THE MANDALORIAN), and an exclusive lecture about its making, the “one for us, one for them” ethos, restarting their channel for a new, temporary run, and how they’ve charted their careers.

youtube.com/@everyframeapainting

More session mentors to be announced.

FILM CRITIC & CREATOR EXAMPLES

Every Frame a Painting
YouTube channel created by Taylor Ramos & Tony Zhou featuring a series of video essays about film form.

www.youtube.com/@everyframeapainting

Amanda the Jedi
YouTube creator who makes video essays and film reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/@AmandaTheJedi

Chris Stuckmann
YouTube creator and filmmaker known for movie reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/user/chrisstuckmann

The Intermission Podcast
Weekly podcast hosted by Megan Braun featuring conversations with filmmakers, artists, musicians, and creators surrounding film.

The Filmcast Podcast
Podcast hosted by David Chen, Devindra Hardawar, and Jeff Cannata featuring debates and deep-dives into the latest films, TV shows, and other media with weekly guests.

Black Girl Nerds
Black Girl Nerds is an online community devoted to promoting nerdiness among Black women & people of color.

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.

SESSION MENTORS

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.

HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE

Applications are Now Closed

DEADLINE TO APPLY: Wednesday, October 12, 2022
NOTIFICATION: by October 19, 2022

WHO SHOULD APPLY:

  • Candidates should be 18+ 

  • Either currently enrolled in college/university, OR you consider yourself early career

  • Can demonstrate a strong interest/background in film/internet media

  • Must be in Hawai'i and able to participate in-person activities during November 3-13, 2022

  • Willing to participate in quarterly meetings with cohort throughout 2023 (via Zoom)

CLOSED

Copyright © 2024 Hawai‘i International Film Festival

With aloha, HIFF acknowledges its occupation of ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Indigenous Hawaiian people, the Kānaka Maoli.

With gratitude, we honor the ʻāina itself and the generations who steward it.

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