Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) presented by Halekulani is thrilled to announce that it has been approved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards category.
Recipients of HIFF’s Best Short Film Award and HIFF’s Best Made in Hawai'i Short Film Award are now eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live Action Short Film category of the Academy AwardsⓇ.
*SUBMIT TO HIFF'S LATE DEADLINE BY JUNE 21, 2024 for the following categories:
Narrative Feature
Documentary Feature
Narrative Short
Documentary Short
Pacific Islander Showcase Features
Pacific Islander Showcase Shorts
New American Perspectives
Made in Hawai'i Features
Made in Hawai'i Shorts
Environmental Shorts
Hawai'i University Student
Select Narrative and Documentary Features across all categories from 1st or 2nd time feature-length directors will be eligible for the Kau Ka Hōkū Award. Additional competition awards include awards for Made In Hawai‘i feature and short films, and short films across all categories.
"HIFF is a must attend'' (Entertainment Weekly), "the premiere American showcase for Asian cinema" (Hollywood Reporter) and "a launching pad for early films by younger directors" (Roger Ebert). Now in its 44th year, HIFF is the festival of record for emerging works from the Pacific Rim, a destination of award winning films from major film festivals around the world, and an incubator for Hawai‘i-based and Native Hawaiian works that come from the vibrant and local creative industries. The festival has featured premiere screenings of many acclaimed films, including festival premieres such as MINARI, JOJO RABBIT, PARASITE, SHOPLIFTERS, ROMA, MOONLIGHT, THE IMITATION GAME, CAROL, THE HOST, DEPARTURES, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and many more.
Past honorees include Ann Hui, Quentin Tarantino, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, Koji Yakusho and Maggie Cheung, who all received lifetime achievement awards. Other guests include legendary Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, CHUNGKING EXPRESS), maverick Korean American actor Steven Yeun (MINARI, BURNING, THE WALKING DEAD), New Zealand impresarios Jemaine Clement (FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS) and Taika Waititi (HUNT FOR THE WILDER PEOPLE, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THOR: RAGNAROK), renowned Korean director Park Chan-Wook (OLDBOY, THE HANDMAIDEN), Japanese actor Ken Watanabe (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, LAST SAMURAI), anime master Satoshi Kon (PAPRIKA, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS, PERFECT BLUE), and American actress Elisabeth Moss (THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE HANDMAID'S TALE).
HIFF’s mission to enlighten, empower and entertain through the medium of film is paramount to being an integral part of Hawai'i’s arts and culture community. Aside from exhibiting films from around the world, the Festival serves as a creative hub for individuals interested in cinema culture, either as a casual fan or for career development. HIFF’s education initiatives include free school screenings and guest filmmaker visits for youth statewide, plus panels and seminars featuring in-depth discussions with renowned filmmakers and content creators, and workshops with industry professionals.
The 44th Annual Hawai'i International Film Festival will be held October 2 -13, 2024 in person on O‘ahu, followed by neighbor island screenings on Kaua'i, Maui, and the Hawai'i Island. Screenings, events, Q&As, and talks, will take place in-person in Honolulu in theaters, with select talks and events streaming online across the United States. HIFF will mark the festival's 44th edition with a continued focus on contemporary Asian, Pacific, and North American cinema, films produced in Hawai'i, and outdoor screenings.
We encourage filmmakers to submit works from any genre. We are especially interested in feature films, documentaries, short films, series, Hawai'i-themed films, films by foreign-born filmmakers, and films by indigenous Pacific filmmakers.
If you are a Hawai'i school student grades K-12 and have a film project to submit, HIFF has recently launched the 'Ōpio Festival, an inaugural youth film festival. Please visit here for more info: https://filmfreeway.com/HIFFOpioFest
HIFF Grand Jury Award - Hawai'i Competition
HIFF is proud to present TWO Grand Jury Awards for Best Hawai'i Feature Film and Best Hawai‘i Short Film during the fall festival. All films “Made in Hawai'i” are eligible for one of these two prestigious awards, which will be adjudicated by two grand juries made up of local and visiting film professionals. The purpose of this award is to reignite the already growing excellence in local cinema production via fiction and non-fiction narratives and to put a spotlight on emerging and established media makers from Hawai'i, producing films about and set in this unique, vibrant and precious culture and state.
Recipients of HIFF’s Best Made in Hawai'i Short Film Award are now eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live Action Short Film category of the Academy AwardsⓇ.
Sponsor: Hawaii Film Office
Made in Hawai'i cash prizes are generously supported by the Nichols Family Film Fund
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Kau Ka Hōkū Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines
The KAU KA HŌKŪ (Shooting Star) Award presented by Hawaiian Airlines will be awarded to an emerging filmmaker (first or second feature film). Both fiction and non-fiction feature films will be nominated by the festival programmers and adjudicated by an international jury.
Sponsor: Hawaiian Airlines
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NETPAC Award
Founded in 1990 by Cinemaya and UNESCO, the NETPAC award (Network for the Promotion of Asian-Pacific Cinema) is given at select international film festivals to promote Asian and Pacific cinema by spotlighting exceptional works and discovering new talent. The 2024 Hawai'i International Film Festival NETPAC Award winner will be selected from select 1st and 2nd directorial efforts of Asian and Pacific feature films playing at this year’s festival. The winner will be announced during the Awards Ceremony and Reception by the NETPAC jury.
Sponsor: NETPAC
This prize is shared with Narrative Feature, Pacific Islander Showcase Features & Shorts and Made in Hawai'i Features & Shorts categories.
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Audience Choice Award
The Festival’s most coveted awards for Favorite Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature and Short Film brings the power to the people and are determined purely by audience voting. Previous winners ranged from awards buzz worthy films like LION and THE EAGLE HUNTRESS to locally made films like HO’OMAU and cult films like WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS.
Sponsor: Hawaii News Now KHNL/KGMB/KFVE
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HIFF Grand Jury - Best Short Film
The Festival will give out one award for Best Short Film. With the rich plethora of perspectives provided by short films, HIFF’s mission is to champion emerging voices from around the world in the most dominant and voluminous format in the film festival circuit. Short films are sometimes under-appreciated and the goal of these awards is to shine a light on this very malleable format and a small glimpse of perspectives from across the globe.
Recipients of HIFF’s Best Short Film Award are now eligible for consideration in the Animated Short Film/Live Action Short Film category of the Academy AwardsⓇ.
Sponsor: Halekulani
