HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The 8th Annual Spring Showcase
April 1 - 7, 2005

presented by

The 8th annual Hawaii International Film Festival Spring Showcase presented by Commercial Data Systems is the premier spring film event in Hawaii! With 28 films presented from all over the world, the HIFF Spring Showcase annually attracts 10,000 attendees over 7 days!

New to this year, HIFF is honored to partner with the USS Missouri to present LESSONS OF WAR, a special focus on WWII films from across the Pacific Rim to showcase non-American experiences during the Pacific War. In addition, the Spring Showcase, will be presenting 28 films from Japan, China, South Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand, France, Germany, Hungary, the UK, Ireland, Canada the US, and many more!

For more information, visit the festival's official website at www.hiff.org. Program Guides will be mailed to all HIFF Ohana members by March 17th and the full lineup will be online by March 24th. See you at the movies!!!

Here is a sampling of the upcoming films:

APRES VOUS
Antoine, a maitre d’ at an upscale brasserie is walking home from work one night. On the way home, he inadvertently saves a man’s life, but the stranger, named Louis, is furious! Feeling guilty for saving this unhappy man’s life, Antoine sets out to make things right.

BREAD AND ROSES
presented by USS Missouri
True story of female politician Sonja Davies of New Zealand . This fascinating film chronicles her life – from her impoverished youth, to her romance with a young military officer before he goes off to fight in the Pacific War, to the aftermath and her rise in independence and politics to become a key figure in New Zealand history.
Official Site

CHINESE RESTAURANTS: THREE CONTINENTS
This fascinating documentary focuses on three Chinese restaurants – one each in Madagascar , Norway and Canada – and presents their owner’s histories and how they are tied into the immigration and community of Chinese ex-pats all over the world.

GLOOMY SUNDAY
When melancholic pianist Andras Arandi arrives late to his audition at Szabo’s restaurant in 1930s Budapest and locks eyes with waitress Ilona, their fate is sealed – even though proprietor Lazlo is her lover. This sweeping love story spans the years through WWII and Nazi occupation. A sleeper hit, GLOOMY SUNDAY is the little film that could, running 4 years straight in the same New Zealand theater!

MONDOVINO
presented by Wine The Experience
An entertaining examination of the impact of globalization upon the international wine industry, filmed across three continents, the director talks to growers, tasters, consultants, importers and critics and explores how giant American firms are exerting ever greater influence on independent producers in Europe, by buying up vineyards and imposing their methods of production.

WOMAN OF BREAKWATER
WOMAN OF BREAKWATER is set amongst a community of people living along the Manila Bay breakwater. These people are as marginalized as you will find – literally living on the edge of Manila . They assemble their shanties from whatever flotsam drifts in from the sea, and they make a living by fishing, selling what they find on shore, begging and whoring.

THE LAND HAS EYES
THE LAND HAS EYES has its fist commercial release here in Honolulu at the Dole Cannery Stadium 18 this week! The film, directed by Visoni Hereniko and produced by HIFF's Founding Director Jeannette Paulson-Hereniko, has wowed audiences at Sundance and at HIFF!

ACM SUPER INTERNS
The Academy of Creative Media announced that four students will intern on the set of the Warner Brothers’ blockbuster SUPERMAN RETURNS, which is now filming in Australia!

Among the interns are two student filmmakers whose work appeared in last year's popular ACM Night at HIFF: Chrystal Jameson (LEARNING PROCESS) and Nelson Quan (HUMBLE BEGININNGS)

see full article

FESTIVAL ARCHIVE HELP
HIFF is hard at work in developing a searchable archive for every one of our festivals... all the way back to 1981! It is a big project and we need your help! We're looking for volunteers to help enter film information from the program guides of the past. It's a big project, but we've divided it into small pieces that can be done here at the HIFF offices or at your home. You can choose to work with contact information, film information, festival awards and juries...and more! It's a great chance to review the festival's storied past, and we're hoping you can identify interesting items from the past that we can include in our look back over the last 25 years. Please contact Christian at (528 3456 x17, christian@hiff.org) for more information.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR PICTURES, POSTERS, MEMORABILIA FROM PAST FESTIVALS! We're planning a big look back at the last twenty-five years of the festival, and we need your help!

Do you have photographs from the festival, especially from the early years? Pictures of the festival on the Neighbor Islands, or at the Varsity Theaters? Pictures of celebrities, opening nights? Do you have posters, especially from the first ten years of the festival? We're looking for anything of historical interest!

Let us know! We'd love to take a look at them! We'll scan or duplicate all material, and return to you in good condition! You'll receive a credit for all material used in publication and on the web! Please contact Christian at (528 3456 x17, christian@hiff.org) for more information.

EQUIPMENT DONATIONS
The festival is looking for the following equipment donations: six VCR players, an external USB CD burner and a gigabyte-sized USB external hard drive. Please contact Christian at (528 3456 x17, christian@hiff.org) for more information. We'll make it worth your while!

BECOME A MEMBER
Our HIFF Ohana members are in the know. They enjoy exclusive screenings and literature on films and are the first to know about parties and special events. Being a member of HIFF is a gateway to a community of film enthusiasts as well as to people who are excited about contributing to the arts. Members are a vital part of our organization and enable HIFF to be a viable and essential resource to filmmakers, educators, community groups, students, and film lovers. Become a HIFF member and receive the Program Guide in the mail and invitations to advance film screenings, get the chance to buy tickets before the general public, discounts on festival tickets...and more!

For membership information, visit http://www.hiff.org, or you may contact Andrea at 528-3456 ext 11 or email: andrea@hiff.org.

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