HIFF 2014: "What We Do in the Shadows" wins top prize!

The Hawaii International Film Festival Audience Award winners, presented by Hawaii New News Now, were announced on November 11, 2014. During this 34th edition of the festival, audiences voted on their favorite narrative feature, documentary feature and short film. Ballots were distributed for the screenings of every eligible film during the festival.

The audience award for Best Narrative Feature goes to WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, directed by Taika Waititi (BOY) and Jemaine Clements (EAGLE VS. SHARK). Audiences delighted in this first-hand look into the living quarters of vampires. The end result is a hysterical docu-style ride that unearths a secret, supernatural society where friendship and camaraderie are just as important as feasting upon the flesh of mortals.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS is also currently screening at the AFIFest in Hollywood. The AFIFest website describes the film as: "A New Zealand “documentary” crew gets unprecedented access to a house shared by five vampires in the latest from AFI FEST Audience Award winner Taika Waititi (BOY, AFI FEST 2010). First there’s Viago (Waititi), a Baroque-era dandy who struggles to get his housemates to do their chores. Joining him are Vladislav (co-director/co-writer Jemaine Clement), a Middle Ages sex addict, and Deacon, a Civil War-era newbie. The inhuman and distant senior member of the group is Petyr, an 8,000-year-old dead-ringer for Nosferatu. When Petyr accidentally turns human hipster Nick into a creature of the night, it causes an uproar in the flat-mates’ happy home. Nick isn’t used to living his life under cover of night, and he has a hard time not bragging about his newfound immortality. Can this motley crew get their act together enough to acknowledge their burgeoning but begrudging friendships – or at least to do the dishes? —Lane Kneedler"

The audience award for Best  Documentary Feature goes to RISE OF THE WAHINE, directed by Dean Kaneshiro. Set in the 1970’s, the film is centered on a small band of minority pioneers from Hawaii who battled through racial and gender barriers--locally and nationally, socially and legally--that wouldn't allow girls to play sports.

The audience award for Best Short Film goes to LAVA, an animated short film directed by James Ford Murphy. Pixar’s latest musical love story LAVA, pays homage to the beauty of tropical islands and ocean volcanoes, The film follows the million-year love affair between two volcanoes and features voice acting and music by local talents Kuana Torres Kahele and Napua Greig.

The Hawaii International Film Festival celebrated their closing night on November 9th, but continues on November 13-16 with encore screenings in Big Island and Kauai. For more information, please visit www.hiff.org

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Raymond Lo

Don't miss "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" this November!

Strange things are afoot in Bad City. The Iranian ghost town, home to prostitutes, junkies, pimps and other sordid souls, is a bastion of depravity and hopelessness where a lonely vampire stalks its most unsavory inhabitants.

One of the most awaited films of the year is finally showing in Los Angeles this month. Beginning November 21st, film buffs will now have a chance to watch "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night", which has been enthralling audiences since its Sundance premiere last January. Yesterday, the film received an award at the ongoing Hawaiian International Film Festivals.

Here's a sample of some of the superlative reviews the movie is getting:

“'Funny, scary, oddly sexy and deeply gorgeous... Watching A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, you get the impression that you're witnessing something iconic and important unfold before you.”
--  Drew Taylor, The Playlist

“A beguiling, cryptic and often surprisingly funny look at personal desire that creeps up on you with the nimble powers of its supernatural focus. Grade: A”
-- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“'Middle Eastern feminist vampire romance' is likely to remain an underpopulated cinematic sub genre, but at least it now has a luminous standard-bearer in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.”
-- Guy Lodge, Variety

"A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" is cinema's first Iranian vampire western, Writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour's debut feature basks in the sheer pleasure of pulp. A joyful mash-up of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. Amped by a mix of Iranian rock, techno, and Morricone-inspired riffs, its airy, anamorphic, black-and-white aesthetic and artfully drawn-out scenes combine the simmering tension of Sergio Leone with the weird surrealism of David Lynch.

Ms. Amirpour is currently in Los Angeles doing the press round.

Credits:
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Screenwriter: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Sina Sayyah, Justin Begnaud, Ana Lily Amirpour
Executive Producers: Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, Josh C. Waller, Nick Moceri, Ben Conrad, Alexei Tylevich, Reza Sixo Safai, Daniel Grove, Patrick Grove
Principal Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Dominic Rians, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marno, Milad Eghbali
Cinematographer: Lyle Vincent
Editor: Alex O'Flinn
Country: U.S.A.
Language: Farsi with English subtitles
Runtime: 107 minutes

See you at the movies!

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Raymond Lo

HIFF 2014: Movies to watch!

Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) presented by Halekulani will return for its 34th edition from Oct. 30 through Nov. 9 featuring films from 45 countries spanning diverse genres. 

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

Belgium, "TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT"

Germany, "BELOVED SISTERS"

Hong Kong, "THE GOLDEN ERA"

Italy, "HUMAN CAPITAL"

Singapore, "MY BELOVED DEAREST"

South Korea, "SEA FOG (Haemoo)"

Thailand, "A TEACHER'S DIARY"

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PHILIPPINES

"3RD IS MY FIRST" (dir. Real Florido)

"M (MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME" (dir. Zig Dulay)

"QUICK CHANGE"

"WHERE I AM KING" (dir. Carlitos Siguion-Reyna)

AND MY MUST-SEE!

Iran, "A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT"

About Hawaii International Film Festival

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.

Festivalgoers are encouraged to embrace this year’s theme of #MyHIFFMoment by sharing their unique experiences, emotions and interpretations from experiencing HIFF films.

See you at the movies!

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Raymond Lo