Free Films/Events

Thanks to a partnership between Asian Cinevision and Drama Fever, you can see two feature length films for free in May to celebrate Asian Heritage Month. These films were featured at the 2010 Asian American International Film Festival (New York City) in 2010. Both of these films are for mature audiences, so viewer discretion is advised. Read more below to learn about these films.

We've just added three film screenings. Two are free screenings if you have a HIFF 30 button, and the last is a Korean thriller. You can obtain a HIFF 30 button at any screening or the box office with a donation of $10 or more.

MIDNIGHT FM (South Korea)
Sunday, October 24 | 8:00 PM | Regal Dole Cannery

Sun-young is a popular radio DJ with a big fan base for a cinema music midnight program that is aired live. She is a perfectionist who has built a successful career for the past 7 years, but when her daughter is in need of an operation overseas, she decides to quit. She prepares for her final show from song selections and comments down to the smallest details. During the show, she receives a call from a listener named Dong-soo. He tells her that she must follow his orders while she hosts her live radio show, or her family's lives are at stake, and threatens that she can't tell anyone. Without knowing what he wants and why this is happening to her, she continues her 2 hour radio program to save her family as they get killed one by one.

HIFF 30 Button Screenings

OLD DAMIEN ROAD (Germany, Hawaii)
Tuesday, October 19 | 4:45 PM | Regal Dole Cannery

HIFF is honored to celebrate its 30th anniversary with this return engagement screening of one of the Festival's most beloved supporters, German journalist, academic and filmmaker Christa Maerker and in honor of the late Bernard Punikaia. The film originally played at HIFF in 1993.

Ms Maerker talks to the inhabitants of the Kalaupapa settlement and listens to their stories. The most impressive moments are all meetings with Bernard Punikaia, the lead through her film, who has been sick since he was 5 years old and has endured his fate with remarkable courage. He always helped his fellow patients and was rightly compared to Father Damien.

KISS ME AGAIN (Italy)
Sunday, October 24 | 9:30 AM | Regal Dole Cannery

The original cast of Gabriele Muccino’s THE LAST KISS are reunited after 10 years. Carlo and his friends, now married (or separated) with kids and mortgages to cover, strengthen their bonds, discover new relationships, and rekindle old passions in their search for enduring love. A life-affirming homage to romance.

We first blogged about the fully restored 50th anniversary version the film BREATHLESS a couple months back, but wasn't really banking on the possibility of it ever reaching our corner of the Pacific.

This is going to be my bookmarker for the next, I don't know, 100 years.

So when co-blogger Dana and I heard it was getting a one-week run at Kahala 8, we got ourselves in line faster than you could shout "New York Herald Tribune" (my official 2010 Halloween costume suggestion to all you pixie-cut lassies).

Speaking of the pay-pahs, A.O. Scott of the New York Times described the re-release as "an immaculate and glowing new print" and by Bogart was he right. Seeing Seberg ask, "Why are you so sad?" and Belmondo deadpan "Because I am" on the silver screen, couldn't've made me more the opposite of sad. And that 25 minute bedroom scene reminded me why I watch movies in the first place because I basically live for that 25 minute bedroom scene. The screening has also inspired me to (and by "me", I mean "ask Dana to") screen print Jean-Pierre Melville's cameo answer to Seberg's journalistic inquiry of his greatest life ambition onto a t-shirt: "To become immortal, and then die." Ugh, why is this movie so good?

Jaloux? (Oh, I'm sorry, that's "jealous?" in French. DOUBLE JALOUX??)

Come join us at our upcoming I Heart HIFF event, next Thursday, August 19th from 5pm to 8pm at Nextdoor in Downtown Honolulu.

You can find details about the event on this page, but what we want to talk about here is some of the raffle prizes. If you bought a 'HIFF 30' button during our Spring Festival, show it at the event to get two free raffle tickets. Additional raffle tickets can be obtained with a donation to HIFF. Due to generosity of BAMP Project, we have the following concert tickets to raffle:

2 (1 pair) tickets - Black Star
Friday, August 27th
Waterfront at Aloha Tower

Dear Teachers!

HIFF would like to thank the Teachers of Hawaii by offering our Furlough to Film Program.  All the teachers in Hawaii are invited to a free HIFF screening on Furlough Friday, Oct 23! Read More...