LVHIFF is Over! (Almost)

DBEDT's Ted Liu gives the "Film in Hawaii" Award to Mari Hatta, who accepted it on behalf of her sister Kayo, who died earlier this year

The 25th Annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival wrapped yesterday (on all islands but the Big Island) with a full day of screenings of the fest's award winners. Thanks to the Honolulu Advertiser's Michael Tsai, who published the winners online at 4:22pm on Friday (2 hours before the awards ceremony), I was able to skip out early on the ceremony to stake out a plum spot in the long buffet line. (Apparently, the word "embargo" was left off the awards press release.)

In true "American Idol" style, Hawaii folks came out en masse to vote for their fellow state-dwellers, so Hawaii films nabbed a healthy number of awards. Here's the full list of winners:

First Hawaiian Bank Golden Maile Awards
* Best Feature: Ian Gamazon & Neill Dela Llana's "Cavite" (Philippines)
* Best Documentary: Florence Ayisi & Kim Longinotto's "Sisters in Law" (U.K., Cameroon)

Hawaiian Airlines Audience Choice Awards
* Best Feature: Frank Lin's "American Fusion" (U.S.)
* Best Documentary: Eddie and Myrna Kamae's "Keepers of the Flame" (U.S./Hawaii)
* Best Short: Ryan Kawamoto's "Sand Island Drive-In Anthem" (U.S./Hawaii)

Hawaii Film & Videomaker Award (Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences)
* Kayo Hatta's "Fishbowl" (U.S./Hawaii)
* Honorable mention to Vince Keala Lucero's "Wahine O Ke Kai" (U.S./Hawaii)

NETPAC Award
* Ning Cai's "Season of the Horse" (Mongolia)

cause & f(x) Dream Digital Award
* Go Shibata's "Late Bloomer" (Japan)

Honolulu Magazine Award for Best Short Film (tie)
* Gerard Elmore's "Valtor the Great vs. the Universe" (U.S./Hawaii)
* Matan Guggenheim's "Crickets" (Israel)

Awards to People & Organizations:
* Hawaii Film Office Film in Hawaii Award: Kayo Hatta
* Eastman Kodak Award for Excellence in Cinematography: Russell Boyd
* LVHIFF Maverick Award: Sonny Chiba
* LVHIFF Lifetime Achievement Awward: Zhang Yimou
* LVHIFF International Achievement in Acting Award: Samuel L. Jackson
* LVHIFF Award of Excellence: Toei Film Studios

And I've put photos of the awards ceremony in my flickr album, so now my 2005 LVHIFF PHOTO ALBUM is complete. Check it out.

>> After 25 years, festival comes into its own [Ebert's fest review, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/29/05]
>> Gripping political drama ‘Cavite’ wins prized HIFF award [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 10/29/05]
>> Hawai'i-linked films take 6 festival awards [Hnl Advertiser, 10/31/05]
>> Big Island hosts Hawaii Film Festival [Hnl Star-Bulletin, 10/31/05]