Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) is a film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko, led by Chuck Boller, Esq. from the late 90s through 2013, and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks. It also features two smaller festivals, a one-week festival in the Spring known as the "Spring Showcase" or the "Spring Fling" and a three-day Korean Film Festival in August called "K-Fest." HIFF is the premier international film event in the Pacific and has won the praise of governments, filmmakers, scholars, educators, programmers and film industry leaders throughout the world. For the discovery and exhibition of Asian and Pacific features, documentaries and short films in the nation, it is a primary source. The festival has premiered such movies as A Leading Man, Once Were Warriors, The Piano, Shine, Shall We Dance, Y Tu Mama Tambien and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[1] The Hawaii International Film Festival is the only film festival that screens films across an entire state, with screenings in Honolulu, Waikiki, and Kaneohe. The festival also has encore screenings of films on the islands of Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.
The HIFF states that it "is dedicated to the advancement of understanding and cultural exchange among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and North America through the medium of film." It is the largest such "East meets West" film festival in the United States.
The festival receives sponsorship from numerous corporations every year, with the largest contributor being Louis Vuitton. The festival is also known as the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival.[2]
Each year, renowned film critic Roger Ebert picks one film to be shown at HIFF and he sometimes travels to Hawaii in order to introduce it to the audience. The Festival gives out several awards: the top prize is named the Golden Maile and is also known as the First Hawaiian Bank Golden Maile Award. In 2004 an award for achievement in acting was given to Maggie Cheung, a second was awarded to Samuel L. Jackson in 2005. Sonny Chiba received Maverick Award in 2005. Ken Watanabe received honors in 2006.
Awards
Best Narrative Feature
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Muddy River | Kōhei Oguri | Japan |
| 1984 | River without Buoys | Wu Tianming | China |
| 1985 | The Yellow Earth | Chen Kaige | China |
| 1986 | Butterfly & Flower | Euthana Mukdasnit | Thailand |
| 1987 | Mirch Masala | Ketan Mehta | India |
| 1988 | Illustrious Energy | Leon Narbey | New Zealand |
| 1989 | The Birth | Shaji Karun | India |
| 1990 | Untama Giru | Gō Takamine | Japan |
| 1991 | The Cyclist | Moshen Makhmalbaf | Iran |
| 1992 | Our Twisted Hero | Park Jong-won | South Korea |
| 1993 | The Blue Kite | Tian Zhuangzhuang | China |
| 1994 | Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker | He Ping | China |
| 1995 | Good Men, Good Women | Hou Hsiao-Hsien | Taiwan / Japan |
| 1996 | A Hot Roof | Lee Min-yong | South Korea |
| 1997 | 12 Storeys | Eric Khoo | Singapore |
| 1998 | Spring in My Hometown | Lee Kwang-mo | South Korea |
| 1999 | Siam Sunset | John Polson | Australia |
| 2000 | Chunhyang | Im Kwon-taek | South Korea |
| 2001 | Firefly Dreams | John Williams | Japan |
| 2002 | Mr. and Mrs. Iyer | Aparna Sen | India |
| 2003 | The Twilight Samurai | Yoji Yamada | Japan |
| 2004 | Taste of Tea | Katsuhito Ishii | Japan |
| 2005 | Cavite | Ian Gamazon / Neill Dela Llana | Philippines / United States |
| 2006 | Love for Share | Nia Dinata | Indonesia |
| 2007 | The Home Song Stories | Tony Ayres | Australia |
| 2008 | Cape No. 7 | Wei Te-Sheng | Taiwan |
| 2009 | Empire of Silver | Christina Yao | China |
| 2010 | Son of Babylon | Mohamed Al-Daradji | Iraq |
| 2011 | Patang | Prashant Bhargava | India |
| 2012 | Key of Life | Kenji Uchida | Japan |
| 2014 | Haemoo | Shim Sung-bo | South Korea |
Best Documentary
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Who Killed Vincent Chin? | Christine Choy / Renee Tajima | United States |
| 1989 | None | ||
| 1990 | Man Without Pigs | Chris Owen | Australia |
| 1991 | The Inland Sea | Lucile Carra | United States |
| 1992 | Black Harvest | Robin Anderson / Bob Connolly | Australia |
| 1993 | Will My Mother Go Back To Berlin? | Micha Peled | United States |
| 1994 | Boatman | Gianfranco Rosi | United States |
| 1995 | Mother Dao the Turtlelike | Vincent Monnikendam | Netherlands |
| 1996 | Six O'Clock News | Ross McElwee | United States |
| 1997 | Homesick Eyes | Hsu Hsiao-Ming | Taiwan |
| 1998 | Nadya's Village | Motahashi Seeichi | Japan |
| 1999 | Surfing For Life | David Brown | United States |
| 2000 | The Diplomat | Tom Zubrycki | Australia |
| 2001 | The Endurance | George Butler | United States |
| 2002 | Spellbound | Jeffrey Blitz | United States |
| 2003 | Refugee | Spencer Nakasako | United States |
| 2004 | Mr. Patterns | Catriona McKenzie | Australia |
| 2005 | Sisters in Law | Kim Longinotto | Cameroon / United Kingdom |
| 2006 | Time and Tide | Julie Bayer / Josh Salzman | Tuvalu / United States |
| 2007 | Beautiful Son | Don King / Julianne King | United States |
| 2008 | Noho Hewa: The Wrongful Occupation of Hawai'i | Anne Keala Kelly | United States |
| 2009 | Petition: The Court of the Complainants | Zhao Liang | China |
| 2010 | I Wish I Knew | Jia Zhangke | China |
| 2011 | Splinters | Adam Pesce | United States |
| 2012 | Where Heaven Meets Hell | Sasha Friedlander | Indonesia, United States |
NETPAC Award
| Year | Film | Director | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Breaking the Silence | Sun Zhou | China |
| 2001 | Devils on the Doorstep | Jiang Wen | China |
| 2002 | Eyes of a Beauty | Guan Hu | China |
| 2003 | |||
| 2004 | Peep "TV" Show | Yutaka Tsuchiya | Japan |
| 2005 | Season of the Horse | Ning Cai | China |
| 2006 | 4:30 | Royston Tan | Singapore |
| 2007 | Owl and the Sparrow | Stephane Gauger | Vietnam |
| 2008 | Brutus - The Adventure | Tara Illenberger | Philippines |
| 2009 | Castaway on the Moon | Lee Hae-jun | South Korea |
| 2010 | Monga | Doze Chen-Zer Niu | Taiwan ROC |
| 2011 | Hanaan | Ruslan Pak | South Korea, Uzbekistan |
| 2012 | Apparition | Vincent Sandoval | Philippines |
Cinematography
| Year | Cinematographer |
|---|---|
| 1983 | The Ballad of Narayama (Masao Toshizawa) |
| 1984 | Hiro Narita |
| 1985 | Zhang Yimou |
| 1986 | Dennis O'Rouke |
| 1987 | Jing Il-Sung |
| 1988 | Leon Narbey |
| 1989 | Shaji Karun |
| 1990 | Gu Changwei |
| 1991 | Huang Ming-Chuan |
| 1992 | Subrata Mitra |
| 1993 | Kazuo Miyagawa |
| 1994 | Ed Lachman |
| 1995 | Gu Changwei |
| 1996 | Frederick Elmes |
| 1997 | John Seale |
| 1998 | Laszlo Kovacs |
| 1999 | Christopher Doyle |
| 2000 | Roger Deakins |
| 2001 | Caleb Deschanel |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | Dean Semler |
| 2004 | |
| 2005 | Russell Boyd |
| 2006 | Matthew Libatique |
Vision in Film
| Year | Award Recipient |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Kawakita Memorial Film Institute |
| 1992 | American Film Institute |
| 1995 | Zhang Yimou |
| 1997 | Ang Lee |
| 2006 | Hollywood Foreign Press Association |
| 2007 | Hawaii State Legislature |
| 2008 | Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group |
| 2009 | Park Chan-wook, Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse of LOST |
| 2010 | Roger & Chaz Ebert |
| 2011 | Alexander Payne |
| 2012 | Sundance Institute's Native Program |
Hawai'i Filmmaker
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | My Aunt May | Roland Tharpe |
| 1991 | Hawai'i: Beyond the Feathered Gods | Paul Atkins |
| 1992 | Simple Courage | Stephanie Castillo |
| 1993 | From Hawai'i to the Holocaust | Judy Weightman / Ryan Sexton |
| 1994 | Ganbare | Robert Bates |
| 1995 | Words, Earth and Aloha | Eddie Kamae |
| 1996 | Lemon Tree Billiards House | Tim Savage |
| 1997 | E Ola Ka 'Olelo Hawai'i | Na Maka O Ka 'Aina |
| 1998 | Kaho'olawe | David Kalama, Jr |
| 1999 | Red Turtle Rising | Jay April |
| 2000 | Ka'ililauokekoa | Kala'iokona Ontai |
| 2001 | Blood of the Samurai | Aaron Yamasato |
| 2002 | ||
| 2003 | The Ride | Nathan Kurosawa |
| 2004 | Silent Years | James Sereno |
| 2005 | Fishbowl | Kayo Hatta |
| 2006 | Na Kamalei: Men of Hula | Lisette Marie Flanery |
New American Filmmakers (NAF)
Since 2007, the Hawaii International Film Festival has partnered with the Vilcek Foundation to curate the New American Filmmakers program.[3] Presented at the festival each year, New American Filmmakers seeks out the most talented foreign-born filmmakers currently contributing to American cinema. The result is a diverse program that draws upon cinematic genres and traditions from around the world.
2015 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Camino | Zoë Bell (Actress) | New Zealand |
| Margarita, with a Straw | Shonali Bose (Director) | India |
| Yosemite | Gabrielle Demeestere (Director) | France |
| Spellbound | Alfred Hitchcock (Director) | England |
| Seoul Searching | Daniel Katz (Cinematographer) | Ireland |
| Benson Lee (Director) | Korean-American | |
| People are the Sky | Dai Sil Kim-Gibson (Director) | North Korea |
2014 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| The Artist | Antoine de Cazotte (Producer) | France |
| A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night | Ana Lily Amirpour (Director) | Iranian-American |
| Man from Reno | Ayako Fujitani (Actress) | Japan |
| Difret | Zeresenay Mehari (Director) | Ethiopia |
| Nuoc 2030 | Minh Nguyen-Võ (Director) | Vietnam |
| Uzumasa Limelight | Ken Ochiai (Director) | Japan |
| Mudbloods | Farzad Sangari (Director) | Iran |
2013 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Pip | Andrew Adamson (Director) | New Zealand |
| Harry Gregson-Williams (Composer) | England | |
| Escape from Tomorrow | Soojin Chung (Producer) | South Korea |
| I Learn America | Jean-Michel Dissard (Director) | France |
| This is Martin Bonner | Chad Hartigan (Director) | Cyprus |
| Sake-Bomb | Junya Sakino (Director) | Japan |
2012 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Valley of Saints | Nicholas Bruckman (Producer) | England |
| Indian Summer (Short Film) | Mridu Chandra (Director) | Indian-American |
| Starlet | Radium Cheung (Cinematographer) | Hong Kong |
| Paraiso (Short Film) | Ronan Landa (Composer) | Israeli-American |
| Daylight Savings | Goh Nakamura (Actor) | Japanese-American |
| The Life and Times of Paul the Psychic Octopus | Alexandre Philippe (director) | Switzerland |
2011 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| The Price of Sex | Mimi Chakarova (Director) | Bulgarian-American |
| Living in Seduced Circumstances | Ian Gamazon (Director) | Filipino-American |
| Skateistan: Four Wheels and a Board in Kabul | Nadia Hennirch (Screenwriter) | Germany |
| Almost Perfect | Bertha Bay-Sa Pan (Director) | Taiwanese-American |
| My Last Day Without You | Christopher Silber (Screenwriter) | Germany |
2010 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Dog Sweat | Hossein Keshavarz (Director) | Iran |
| Au Revoir Taipei | In-Ah Lee (Producer) | Germany |
| Apart Together | Lisa Lu (Actress) | Chinese-American |
| Beijing Taxi | Miao Wang (Director) | China |
2009 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| A Village Called Versailles | S. Leo Chiang (Director) | Taiwan |
| Prince of Broadway | Karren Karagulian (Actor) | Armenia |
| The People I've Slept With | Quentin Lee (Director) | Hong Kong |
| Bombay Summer | Joseph Mathew-Varghese (Director) | India |
| White on Rice | Hiroshi Watanabe (Actor) | Japan |
2008 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Chief (Short Film) | Chief Sielu Avea (Actor) | Samoa |
| Long Story Short | Christine Choy (Director) | China |
| Vietnam Overtures | Stephane Gauger (Director) | Vietnam |
| Prince of the Himalayas | Sherwood Hu (Director) | China |
| Someplace Else | Kai-Duc Luong (Director) | Cambodia |
| Ocean of Pearls | Sarab Neelam (Director) | India |
2007 NAF Featured Films
| Film | Delegate | Country of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Owl and the Sparrow | Stephane Gauger (Director) | Vietnam |
| Finishing the Game | Justin Lin (Director) | Taiwan |
| The Rebel | Charlie Nguyen (Director) | Vietnam |
| The GateKeeper of Enmyoin | Reiko Tahara (Director) | Japan |
| Max Uesugi (Director) | Japan |
See also
References
- ↑ "Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival Announces 2008 Audience Winners". Archived from the original on 2009-07-19.
- ↑ http://hawaii.bside.com/2008/
- ↑ "The Vilcek Foundation - New American Filmmakers - Hawaii International Film Festival". www.vilcek.org. Retrieved 2015-11-13.