The Halekulani Maverick Award is given to an international cinema artist who has a unique and eclectic career trajectory, contributing to international cinema arts in an innovative way. This maverick does things on their own terms, creating work that can have a rabid following to a mass appreciation in today’s pop culture. Like a trendsetter and tastemaker, their work may not have been appreciated early on, but has become an artistic benchmark. Past recipients include Awkwafina, Tadanobu Asano, Randall Park and Kevin Smith.
For 2024, with the Festival’s special spotlight on ‘Prestige TV,’ this year’s Maverick Award recipient is for the upcoming Disney/Hulu series INTERIOR CHINATOWN based on the award-winning novel by Charles Yu. HIFF44 is honored to present a special presentation of the first episode, which is directed by HIFF37 Trailblazer Award honoree and festival favorite Taika Waititi (NEXT GOAL WINS, JOJO RABBIT, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THOR: RAGNAROK).
Aside from receiving the Maverick Award at the upcoming HIFF44 Awards Gala at Halekulani on October 12th, Author and showrunner Charles Yu and the main cast–Jimmy O. Yang, Chloe Bennet and Ronny Chieng–will be in attendance for the special presentation screening (October 13th at Consolidated Kahala) and participate in an after-film panel discussion moderated by HIFF’s Partnerships Manager Ross Matlin.
Catch this rare opportunity to see this special; advance screening of INTERIOR CHINATOWN before it drops on Hulu on November 19th and meet the stars and creator of the series. Tickets are going fast!
INTERIOR CHINATOWN (Special Presentation w/ Creator & Cast)
Sunday, October 13th, 8:00pm
Consolidated Kahala Theaters
Charles Yu is creator and showrunner of INTERIOR CHINATOWN (Hulu/20th) based on his novel of the same title, which was a New York Times bestseller and won the National Book Award for Fiction. The book was named a best book of the year by numerous publications and organizations, including The New Yorker, NPR, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair and Vulture. He has been nominated for three WGA awards and has written for Hulu, FX, AMC and HBO, as well feature film projects for Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Time and Wired, among other places. He lives in southern California with his family.
Jimmy O. Yang is an actor, comedian, writer and producer who is best known for his roles in LOVE HARD, SILICON VALLEY, CRAZY RICH ASIANS and SPACE FORCE, where he also served as a writer. He stars as Willis Wu in the upcoming Hulu drama INTERIOR CHINATOWN, based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Charles Yu.
As a standup comedian, Jimmy’s newest standup comedy special GUESS HOW MUCH? premiered on Amazon Prime to millions of views on the platform and socials. Jimmy’s debut standup comedy special GOOD DEAL, also on Amazon Prime, likewise quickly became some of the most viewed standup comedy clips on social media. Jimmy is also the author of HOW TO AMERICAN, a memoir where he shares his early experience of coming to America as an immigrant from Hong Kong, only to later disappoint his parents by becoming a standup comedian.
Along with partners Jessica Gao and Ken Cheng, Jimmy is a founding member of Crab Club Inc., a production company dedicated to fostering original, authentic, and diverse voices in both TV and Film projects.
Chloe Bennet stars in the highly anticipated Hulu drama “Interior Chinatown,” based on Charles Yu’s award-winning novel of the same name. Bennet stars opposite Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng in the series, executive produced by Yu, along with Taika Waititi, who also directed the pilot.
Earlier this year, Bennet wrapped production on the dramedy film HELLO OUT THERE alongside Phil Dunster, which centers on a young journalist (Bennet) who embarks on a road trip across New Mexico to investigate Area 51. Bennet can also recently be seen in a recurring role in the latest season of FXX’s acclaimed hit series “Dave,” opposite Lil Dicky.
Best known for her leading role as ‘Daisy Johnson (Quake)’ on Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” series, which ran for seven seasons on ABC, some of Bennet’s acting credits include DreamWorks’ animated feature ABOMINABLE; her live-action theatrical debut in MGM’s musical remake of the 80s classic VALLEY GIRL; and a recurring role in the first season of ABC’s “Nashville. ”
Ronny Chieng is a comedian, writer, and actor who was born in Malaysia and currently lives in New York City. He has been a correspondent on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” since 2015, when Trevor Noah saw him perform stand-up at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival. Ronny got his comedy start in Australia where he had multiple stand-up specials after gaining popularity from touring with Bill Burr. While in Australia, Ronny created the sitcom “Ronny Chieng: International Student” which aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corp and later on Comedy Central in the US. Ronny gained worldwide attention in 2018 when he starred in the Warner Bros. blockbuster CRAZY RICH ASIANS based on the international best-selling book by Kevin Kwan. He would appear in other Hollywood tentpoles such as GODZILLA VS. KONG (2021); SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021); M3GAN (2023); VACATION FRIENDS (2023) and SHORTCOMINGS (2023) directed by Randall Park.
Ronny Chieng has been ever-present on television the past few years, credits including Mel Brooks’ “History of the World, Part II” for Hulu, Disney+’s “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” and the hit NBC sitcom “Young Rock.” He will next star in Disney+’s “American Born Chinese” based on Gene Luen Yang’s book and Hulu’s “Interior Chinatown.” But Ronny is perhaps best known for his biting stand-up comedy, which he tours internationally and can be seen on his two Netflix specials: “Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!” and “Ronny Chieng: Speakeasy.”
