Oct 30 @7:30pm

21+ Event

Vaccination REQUIRED Event

Special Events

HIFF'S KAUAI SHOWCASE: November 18 - 21, 2021

$10 / Movie or $50 HIFF Pass for ALL Movies 11/18-21/2021 ($40 savings)

THURSDAY (11/18/21) Opening Night

7:00 PM

I WAS A SIMPLE MAN (Runtime 100M)

Made in Hawaii | Director: Chris Yogi

Masao is an aging man who lives a solitary existence on O'ahu's North Shore. But when he learns that he's not long for this world, his life's regrets begin to surface, like a slowly rising tide.  As Masao becomes bed-ridden, previously distant sons and daughters trickle into his home to provide end-of-life care. Most mysteriously, Masao's late wife, Grace, returns to haunt him, triggering flashbacks to the past Masao must learn to confront.

FRIDAY (11/19/21)
5:30 PM
THE FABLE: THE KILLER WHO DOESN'T KILL(Runtime 131M)

Japan | Director: Kan Eguchi
Based on the Japanese manga series of the same name, THE FABLE: THE KILLER WHO DOESN'T KILL stars Junichi Okada as legendary assassin Akira Sata, aka The Fable.  Following his boss's order to "kill no one and live like a normal man for a year," Akira lives a peaceful life that is interrupted when he encounters a young woman in a wheelchair and a shady NPO representative he was once assigned to kill.

8:00 PM

HOSTAGE: MISSING CELEBRITY(Runtime 94M)

South Korea | Director: Pil Gam-sung

What happens when life imitates art? Korean superstar actor Hwang Jung-min is about to find out. Jung-min has reached the pinnacle of his career, recognized as one of Korea's top leading men. Resting on his laurels after the latest premiere, he is caught unaware when he finds himself kidnapped by a group of brutal thugs. When the thugs request an immediate ransom, Jung-min must muster up all of his acting skills to mastermind his way out of this real and present danger.

SATURDAY (11/20/21)

2:45 PM

MADE IN HAWAII SHORTS PROGRAM - PROGRAM 1 (Runtime 83M)

Program 1 includes the following Short Films:

ALA MOANA BOYS| Keli'i Grace

Blamed for a crime they did not commit, five young men in 1930s Hawaii must consider their futures and their families as they weigh the consequences of taking action.

KA HO'I - THE RETURN | Mitchel Viernes

An aging Hawaiian War Veteran grapples with the nightmares of his past, and the even scarier thought of being forgotten as the world around him seems to leave him in the dust. One night, he hears a familiar voice calling him from the beach, and what he encounters is beyond anything he could have imagined.

RIVER OF SMALL GODS| Bradley Tangonan

A modern myth set on the island of Oahu about a Hawaiian woman who is hired by a mysterious sculptor to take sacred stones from a riverbed.

I WILL BE YOUR BREATH | Malia Adams

Kamahina learns about her great-grandmother and what she had to go through as a Hawaiian woman in the early 1900's, Kamahina understands her great grandmother's history and connects with her roots. Kamahina's journey is shown through the depiction of the forest taking over her house. In the same period, her great grandmother in the forest masters the new culture forced upon her, as a means of survival.

LAST HAWAIIAN SUGAR | Deja Cresencia Bernhardt

12-year-old Nua navigates the changing world using her connection to the land as Maui's lone remaining "Big Sugar" plantation shuts down and threatens her very way of life. A by product of migrant workers brought together decades ago, she struggles to reveal a deep secret to her mother on the final day of the mill's operation.

5:00 PM

MIRACLE CITY KOZA (Runtime 119M)

Japan | Director: Kazuhiro Taira

Koza City, Okinawa, present day, Shota, the grandson of legendary rocker Haru, has been spending his days in idleness, when his grandfather is killed in a traffic accident. Shortly thereafter, Haru's ghost appears to Shota with an otherworldly proposition: trade bodies so grandpa can take care of unfinished business! Suddenly, Shota finds himself transported to the 1970s, his spirit trasmuted to the then young Haru. The problem is Shota doesn't know how to play rock n' roll...

7:30 PM

WATERMAN (Runtime 88M)

Made in Hawaii | Director: Isaac Halisima

Surfing legend, Olympic superstar, Hawaiian Icon, American hero. Five-time Olympic medalist and Native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahanamoku shattered records and brought surfing to the world while overcoming a lifetime of personal challenges.  Narrated by Jason Mamoa, WATERMAN explores his journey and legacy as a legendary swimmer, trailblazer, and the undisputed father of modern-day surfing, following the sport's first-time inclusion in this year's Olympics - a fitting tribute to his work promoting the sport around the globe. Through Duke's incredible athletic accomplishments and embodiment of the aloha spirit, the film celebrates his triumphs and philosophy of inclusion, challenging us all to embrace diversity and incorporate aloha into our own lives.

SUNDAY (11/21/21) FINAL DAY
2:30 PM
THE ISLAND IN ME(Runtime 100M) - MEET THE DIRECTOR / Q&A Following the Film
Made in Hawaii | Director: Gemma Cubero Del Barrio
A documentary feature that takes the viewer to the Polynesian atoll of Pukapuka, a unique place never before captured in film. With only four hundred inhabitants and ten meters above sea level, the atoll has stories to tell. The film follows two women who grew up here and return home after decades away to find the atoll, and themselves, forever changed.

4:45 PM

MADE IN HAWAII SHORTS - PROGRAM 2(Runtime 79M)

Program 2 includes the following Short Films:

CASHBACK| Director: Zoe Eisenberg

On her last night of work, a pregnant theater manager and her longtime employee discover a bag of cash under a seat and must decide what to do with it.

IN THE LIGHT| Director: Kailer Scopacasa

A visit in the woods.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE| Director: Mike Bayman

A psychological thriller that follows a social media influencer and her photographer on a trip to Hawaii where she grows increasingly jealous of an emerging younger rival. Gradually becoming consumed it causes her to question everything, including her own reality. A poignant tale of jealousy, growing older, the unattainable definition of beauty according to Instagram, and the destructive nature of toxic relationships TROUBLE IN PARADISE leaves us wondering is any of it "real"?

AREA 77 | Director: Vegard Bye

A young man is living his best life in a restricted forest area, together with his best friend Celia. One day they get the chance to leave the forest to return to a new, now foreign world.

BALLISTIC | Director: Zack Harris

Ryan Watanabe, a local Japanese American skateboarder who works at a hotel in Waikiki, receives a notice of a ballistic missile inbound for Hawaii. Ryan has twenty minutes to lead his persistent mother Michi and baby sister Jasmine Watanabe to a safety bunker in Diamond Head, overcoming family disparity and erupting cultural tension, to survive a paradise in turmoil.

BR0K3N | Director: Kurt Jones

A short film about mental illness and its startling effects. Candace is a successful attorney, engaged to her dream guy, whose life should be right on track. Despite the best efforts of her sympathetic psychiatrist, Dr. Wright, Candace begins to spiral into a familiar pattern of losing touch with reality. This dark, psychological thriller will leave you wondering what’s real and what’s all in your mind.

7:00 PM

THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS (Runtime: 98M)

United States | Director: Dante Basco

Dante Basco makes his directorial debut, and he's bringing his entire family with him. THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS is an intergenerational comedy that is sweet, at times raunchy, and full of heart. Dante co-stars with siblings Darion, Arianna, Dionysio, and Derek. From cockfights to adultery, and finding new (and old) love in unexpected places, each of the brothers finds themselves in different situations that will ultimately challenge their beliefs on love and family, all leading up to a climactic family wedding!