HIFF 2014 will open with the U.S. premiere of "The Vancouver Asahi" on Oct. 30. The film is an inspirational and dramatic true story of the “Vancouver no Asahi” baseball team who played in Canada prior to World War II. The team was the focal point of the Japanese Canadian community in British Columbia until the fateful day of December 7, 1941 when the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Tsumabuki Satoshi stars as a second-generation Japanese immigrant named Reggie Kasahara, the shortstop for the team.
Anderson Le, Director of Programming, said “HIFF is honored to open our 34th festival with an advance screening of "The Vancouver Asahi", which is slated as the big Christmas release in Japan. It is rare to see the World War II internment camp experience through the lens of Japanese nationals in a major motion picture. With a large ensemble cast consisting of Japan’s biggest stars, we’re honored to premiere this film from award- winning director Yuya Ishii.”
Check out the trailer below of "The Vancouver Asahi".
There are 180 films in the festival program this year and I have selected several films that i consider must-see! 7 are films entered by their respective countries to this year's foreign language film category of the Oscars. 4 are Filipino films (because I am!) and 1 film from Iran called "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night" that I have been waiting for so many months now to see!
OSCAR CONTENDERS
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| Belgium, "TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT" |
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| Germany, "BELOVED SISTERS" |
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| Hong Kong, "THE GOLDEN ERA" |
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| Italy, "HUMAN CAPITAL" |
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| Singapore, "MY BELOVED DEAREST" |
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| South Korea, "SEA FOG (Haemoo)" |
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| Thailand, "A TEACHER'S DIARY" |
SPOTLIGHT ON THE PHILIPPINES
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| "3RD IS MY FIRST" (dir. Real Florido) |
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| "M (MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME" (dir. Zig Dulay) |
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| "QUICK CHANGE" |
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| "WHERE I AM KING" (dir. Carlitos Siguion-Reyna) |
AND MY MUST-SEE!
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| Iran, "A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT" |
Established in 1981, the Hawaii International Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated
to the advancement of cultural exchange and media awareness in the Pacific Rim. HIFF is a
premier international film event that has won the praise of governments, filmmakers, scholars,
educators, programmers and film industry leaders across the globe. HIFF's programming has
two particular mandates: to be a festival of record for emerging films from Asia, the Pacific, and
North America and to present the top festival films from around the world, annually screening
films from over 45 countries. HIFF also presents educational content and panels in the fields of
film and music, and mobile entertainment and gaming. These transmedia programs reflect
HIFF's commitment to exhibiting innovative creative content coming from the Asia Pacific Rim.
Visit http://www.hiff.org/ for more information.
See you at the movies!
XXX
Raymond Lo
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