What to Watch at This Year’s Hawai‘i International Film Festival
The 45th annual HIFF runs Oct. 16–26 in Honolulu with a new format.
Still from No Other Choice, the centerpiece film at HIFF45. Photo: Courtesy of Hawai‘i International Film Festival
The 45th annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival returns to Consolidated Theatres Kāhala Oct. 16–26, then moves to the West Side and Neighbor Islands Oct. 28–Nov. 16. This year’s theme is “convergence,” which celebrates how film can bring together a diversity of people, thought and culture.
Expect dozens of feature films and more than 140 shorts from Hawai‘i, Asia, the Pacific and beyond. New this year, the festival will conclude with the inaugural HIFILM Industry Conference instead of a closing night film; organizers say the change will better serve the local film industry.
The conference will include keynote speakers, panels, workshops and networking opportunities. Guests include Glenn Gainor, former head of Amazon Original Movies; Diane Quon, former marketing exec at NBC and Paramount Pictures; Kaliko Kauahi, a Native Hawaiian actor on NBC’s Superstore; Ben Proudfoot, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker; Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker’s producing partner; Erin Lau, a Native Hawaiian filmmaker; and others. It runs Oct. 24–26 at Chaminade University and costs $125.
“HIFF45 continues our legacy of showcasing the most exciting and groundbreaking voices in global cinema, while also creating a vital hub for industry exchange through our inaugural HIFILM Industry Conference,” says HIFF executive director Beckie Stocchetti. “Our 2025 lineup celebrates bold storytelling from around the world, while the Industry Conference strengthens Hawai‘i’s place in the global film and media ecosystem.”
In addition to the yet-to-be-decided juried awards—such as the Kau Ka Hōkū Award and the Pasifika Award—this year’s honorees include the creative team behind Chief of War; Oldboy director Park Chan-wook; New Zealand actor Melanie Lynskey, who stars in Pike River, which screens at HIFF45; and more.
For the general cinephile or casual moviegoer, the core celebration of film offers plenty to experience on the big screen. Here are a few standouts.
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Opening Night Film: Rental Family
Hikari, who directed a few episodes of the Netflix hit Beef as well as the film 37 Seconds, brings to life the story of a man (played by Brendan Fraser) who is hired to fill lost relational roles in others’ lives. You’ll need tissues for this one. Bonus: The rental family agency owner is played by Honolulu resident Takehiro Hira, who also starred in Shōgun.
Sentimental Value
The winner of Cannes’ Grand Prix makes its Hawai‘i premiere. Two sisters grapple with their relationship to their estranged father (Stellan Skarsgård), a filmmaker who tries to make a comeback.
Before the Moon Falls
An acclaimed Samoan writer murders her fellow-poet friend. Local filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford digs into Sia Figiel’s mental health struggles in this documentary.
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Video calls between filmmaker Sepideh Farsi and Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona (also spelled Fatima Hassouna), who was killed in an airstrike in April, shortly after the film was selected for Cannes, give insight into life in a Gaza under siege.
Centerpiece Film: No Other Choice
Lee Byung-hun, a previous HIFF honoree who is known most recently for his role as the Front Man in Squid Game, stars as Man-soo, who was laid off and does whatever it takes to support his family. The film was directed by Vision in Film Award honoree Park Chan-wook.
Snow Leopard Sisters
Two Indigenous women in the Himalayan highlands team up to save a declining snow leopard population in this documentary combining environmental justice, cultural tradition and female empowerment.
Mag Mag
J-horror meets comedy and romance in the first film from Japan’s new K2 Pictures studio, about the Mag Mag ghost. You may recognize director Yurian Retriever from a recent appearance on America’s Got Talent, if that gives any clues as to what we’re in for.
Made in Hawai‘i Shorts
HIFF’s popular shorts programs hit on many themes, but it’s the Made in Hawai‘i roster that often draws the biggest crowds. This year’s lineup of six films include one about a food delivery driver’s chaotic Christmas Eve, siblings pressured to succeed in their father’s eyes and the North Shore surf, and three young Micronesian boys on the hunt for their friend’s hidden treasure.
Nā Wāhine Buda Kiakahi: Buddhism and the Legacy of Hawaiian Women
This documentary goes back more than 100 years to Mary Mikahala Robinson Foster, to present practitioners Nola Nāhulu, Puanani Burgess, Norma Wong and Manu Aluli Meyer and their influence in the local community.
Magellan
From Hampton Sides’ 2024 book The Wide Wide Sea about Capt. James Cook to this new film by Lav Diaz, media recasting the allure and celebration of historical explorers and conquerers has been gaining traction lately. Gael García Bernal plays the titular explorer as he sails to the Malayan Archipelago.
Lahaina Rising
This tribute to Lahaina, directed and produced by local Maui residents, shows how certain factors contributed to the vulnerability of the community, and how they came together in solidarity to heal and rebuild.
FilAm Frames – Short Films from the Diaspora
Four Filipino American stories will be presented, including a documentary about local Grammy winner Larry Ramos; and East Did Meet West, produced and co-written by one of O‘ahu’s recent Chapman graduates, Alexis Berganio.
The full list of films and schedule is available here. Tickets are generally $17, but keep an eye out for discounts and day-of increases, plus different costs for special events. Many films sell out in advance, so your best bet is to buy tickets online rather than in person. Find a cost breakdown here.
Passes are available now, but you’ll still need to reserve your spot for screenings, unless you’re a platinum passholder. Keep in mind that additional screenings are often added—and schedules can change—so find the most updated list online.
Can’t get enough of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival? Join HIFF Selects, which gives you access to exclusive members-only screenings every month of the year.
Katrina Valcourt is the executive editor of HONOLULU Magazine.
