Hawai’i Film Festival Raises the Bar With Record Number of Premieres, Premium TV Section Launch (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The 44th running of the Hawaii International Film Festival presented by Halekulani will open with “Tinā,” an uplifting drama film that marks the feature directorial debut of Miki Magasiva, and close with Sori Fumihiko’s “Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality.” In between, the festival will pack in 92 features and 114 short films, major awards for guests including Jimmy O Yang, Hong Kong’s Sandra Ng and documentary filmmaking star Stanley Nelson. “This year, we have the largest selection of Hawai`i films in competition in the festival’s history, are presenting multiple films that explore Indigenous perspectives, narrative sovereignty, and the nurturing of cultural identity, and additionally, we are launching a new spotlight showcasing the best in television,” said Beckie Stochetti, HIFF executive director.
Hailing from New Zealand, with dialog in English and Samoan, “Tinā” sees Anapela Polata’ivao (“Our Flag Means Death”) portray a well-respected and gifted vocal coach endure family tragedy and venture out of her comfort zone to become a substitute teacher at an elite, all-white private school.
There she forms a choir that begins her healing as a matriarch and caregiver. In “Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality,” the “Perfect Days” star Yakusho Koji portrays a legendary writer who conceives a massive fantasy masterpiece and makes it his life’s work.
But he begins to go blind before it can be completed and narrates it instead to his dearest friend. The festival’s Centerpiece Presentation is Hawai’i-set “Moloka’i Bound,” directed by Alika Tengan’s and adapted from the director’s own short film of the same name.
Read more on variety.com