Local Fest News

Last call for entries to the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), taking place Oct 20-30! The drop-dead last day to submit your film is July 25th (postmarked). This year will be HIFF's 25th Anniversary, so expect a big, exciting fest. HIFF is particularly encouraging Hawaii filmmakers to submit their films--it's FREE for Hawaii filmmakers to submit, so there's nothing to lose. Need more encouragement? There is a new $2,500 cash award for Best Short Film this year! Shorts, features, documentaries, works in progress, and even music videos will be considered. Plus, there will be a Student Showcase, featuring the works of primary and secondary school students from Hawaii's public and private schools. Click below for more info:
>> HIFF Entries
>> HIFF Student Showcase

In other fest news, Cinema Paradise announced its local award-winners two weeks ago. Each of the award-winning films help to "promote Hawaii's rich cultural assets." The winners are:

• 1st Place: "Fire," a short film directed by Mike Stewart & Scott Carter -- The highly anticipated film by legendary body boarder Mike Stewart. In his own words: “The blinding forces of our society collide with the inner rhythm of nature: Follow a life’s pursuit of a wave rider to decipher the rhythm in the randomness of it all.”
• 2nd Place: "Silent Years," a short film directed by James Sereno -- After years of repression, a woman must journey back to her past and confronts her memories of teenage abuse while growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii. Adapted from two poems by renowned Hawaii author Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Silent Years tells a universal story using the unique dialect of Hawaiian Pidgin English.
• 3rd Place: "Burnt," a short film directed by Bryan Lee -- Two derelicts with no jobs, no money, no real purpose in life and no worries--until they find out that one of their favorite soup kitchens is closing down due to government cutbacks. Soon the two agree that the one at fault is the President of the United States, but lacking funds for airfare, they quickly deduce that the governor works for the President and as his highest representative here in the islands, the governor must be eliminated.