2009 HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL COMES TO HILO
11/03/2009
Select Films To screen at Hilo Palace Theater November 6-8
HONOLULU, HI (Monday, November 2) – If you missed any films this October at HIFF, now’s your chance to catch a repeat screening. From November 6-8, the Hawaii International Film Festival is pleased to bring a selection of 13 films featured at the Fall Festival on Oahu to the Palace Theater in Hilo, Hawaii.
The selection of films include the BARBARIAN PRINCESS, which had its world premiere at HIFF and sold out three screenings; the documentary STATE OF ALOHA by local director Anne Misawa; Spotlight on India Bollywood film OM SHANTI OM; Surf Cinema favorite RIO BREAKS; the U.S. premiere of the American Indies film THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE; the Family Fest favorite SAVING LUNA; three exceptional documentaries featured in HIFF’s Reel Life series INGREDIENTS, THE LAST BEEKEEPER, and OLD PARTNER; three short films AJUMMA! ARE YOU KRAZY?, STONES and THE LYCHEE THIEVES; and the Hawaii premiere of the Spotlight on Japan film HONOKAA BOY.
The screenings will run Friday, November 6, Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8. Tickets are on sale at the Hilo Palace Theater Box Office during box office hours only, 10:00am to 3:00pm, Monday – Friday, except holidays. Special pricing for the screening of BARBARIAN PRINCESS is $10 per person. All the other screenings are $7 general admission, $6 for seniors and students, and $5 for “Friends of the Palace.” No “Mahalo Passes” will be accepted for HIFF films. For more ticket information please call (808) 934-7010. For more information on HIFF please visit www.hiff.org.
HILO PALACE THEATER SCHEDULE
Nov. 6
8:00pm – BARBARIAN PRINCESS
Nov 7
11:00am – STATE OF ALOHA
1:30pm – OM SHANTI OM
5:00pm – RIO BREAKS
7:00pm – THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE
Nov. 8
11:00am – SAVING LUNA
1:30pm – INGREDIENTS + THE LAST BEEKEEPER
4:00pm – OLD PARTNER
6:30pm – AJUMMA, ARE YOU KRAZY? + STONES + THE LYCHEE THIEVES
8:00pm – HONOKAA BOY
FILM SYNOPSIS
BARBARIAN PRINCESS
In 1888, Hawai’i is a paradise on the brink of civil unrest under the malevolent influence of a rebel party with links to the American government. The tide has turned against the long-incumbent royal family, among whom is the beautiful Princess Ka’iulani. Scarcely 13 years old, she is separated from her family and homeland and sent to a place that couldn’t be more different from Hawai’i – Victorian England. Coming to terms with her fate, Ka’iulani undergoes a harsh education that equips her with a sense of duty and honor. What’s more, she falls in love with a spirited young Englishman. Emerging from childhood and inspired by blossoming romance, Ka’iulani realizes she must end the injustices suffered by her people. She sets off to meet President Grover Cleveland to prove that she and her people are not the “barbarians” portrayed by the American press. Based on the true story, Barbarian Princess is an inspiring romance about an unlikely heroine and her unwavering fight to defend the independence of her people.
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Run time: 130 min. | USA, Hawaii
Director: Marc Forby
Language: English, Hawaiian w/ English subtitles
6 Nov. 8:00 PM Hilo Palace Theater
STATE OF ALOHA
Directed and produced by Anne Misawa (TREELESS MOUNTAIN, HIFF 2008), STATE OF ALOHA traces the journey of Hawai’i‘s fifty years of statehood through over thirty key interviews. Interviewees cover a representative span of the Hawai’i population, including witnesses from the political arena, arts and entertainment, business, and academia. STATE OF ALOHA represents the culmination of a larger research project entitled the Hawai’i Statehood Project, prepared by the University of Hawai’i‘s Academy for Creative Media back in 2004. In addition, the film provided an opportunity for ACM students to work alongside professionals on all aspects of production. Anchored by personal stories, the motivating paths toward statehood are addressed as well as the legacy left behind.
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Run time: 80 min. | United States
Director: Anne Misawa
7 Nov. 11:00 AM Hilo Palace Theater
OM SHANTI OM
Generating the biggest worldwide box office opening for a Bollywood film, OM SHANTI OM, or OSO as its legions of fans refer it as, the film is an homage to Bollywood musicals of the 1970s. Indian superstar Sha Rukh Khan stars as Om, a junior artist whose one true love is the cinematic goddess Shanti Priya (Deepika Padukone), and they begin a love affair. But, cosmic forces run against them and fate separates them forever.
Thirty years later, Om is reincarnated and becomes a superstar himself. He soon feels pangs of his former life and begins production on a big budget spectacle called OM SHANTI OM, which may or may not be an homage to his one true love. A celebration of Bollywood films of yore, dashed in with reincarnation, and the tethered link of star-crossed lovers, OSO will leave you laughing, crying and cheering in the theater.
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Run time: 162 min. | India
Director: Farah Khan
Language: Hindi, w/ English subtitles
7 Nov. 1:30 PM Hilo Palace Theater
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Run time: 84 min. | United States, Brazil
Director: Justin Mitchell
Language: Portugese w/ English subtitles
7 Nov. 5:00 PM Hilo Palace Theater
THE HARIMAYA BRIDGE
Daniel Holder’s father was killed fighting the Japanese during World War II, something he thought he had made peace with until the recent discovery that his father was killed in a very cruel and brutal way. When his beloved son Mickey takes a job in Japan teaching English, it creates a rift between them. Mickey dies in a traffic accident, and Daniel’s profound regret at their estrangement is matched only by his increasing resentment towards Japan. Despite these feelings, he goes there to retrieve precious items belonging to his son. Daniel is welcomed in Kochi by Mickey’s former colleagues. While he sees that his son was loved by the people there, he rejects the kindness shown towards him, preferring to hold onto his hatred. But a series of unexpected discoveries about Mickey forces Daniel to reassess his feelings for Japan and the life he will henceforth lead.
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Run time: 120 min. | Japan, South Korea, United States
Director: Aaron Woolfolk
Language: Japanese w/ English subtitles
7 Nov. 7:00 PM Hilo Palace Theater
SAVING LUNA
Luna, a baby male orca, gets separated from his family on the rugged coast of Vancouver Island. All alone, he tries to make friends with humans. People fall in love with him, but the government tries to keep him and people apart. This becomes hilarious and baffling, because Luna is determined to be friendly. This leads to battles between government and First Nations, and between those who love Luna and those who think he should be killed. Saving Luna explores a great mystery: Who are these lives with whom we share the planet, and what are the connections between us that we do not yet know?
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Run time: 93 min. | Canada
Director: Michael Parfit, Suzanne Chisholm
8 Nov. 11:00AM Hilo Palace Theater
INGREDIENTS
At the focal point of this movement, and of this film, are the farmers and chefs who are creating a truly sustainable food system. Their collaborative work has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local. Attention being paid to the local food movement comes at a time when the failings of our current industrialized food system are becoming all too clear. For the first time in history, our children’s generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than our own. The quality, taste and nutritional value of the food we eat has dropped sharply over the last fifty years. Shipped from ever-greater distances, we have literally lost sight of where our food comes from and in the process we’ve lost a vital connection to our local community and to our health. A feature-length documentary, INGREDIENTS illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize that connection.
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Run time: 66 min. | United States
Director: Robert Bates
8 Nov. 1:30 PM Hilo Palace Theater
THE LAST BEEKEEPER
Bees are vanishing. Examining the enormity of this loss, Jeremy Simmons’ documentary THE LAST BEEKEEPER follows the lives of three commercial beekeepers (from South Carolina, Montana, and Washington) over the course of a year as they struggle with Colony Collapse Disorder. “If all the bees die, what do you have to live for?” asks one of the beekeepers. It’s a question for all of us.
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Run time: 66 min. | United States
Director: Jeremy Simmons
8 Nov. 1:30 PM Hilo Palace Theater
OLD PARTNER
In a remote, verdant valley in South Korea, old Mr. and Mrs. Lee live on a farm with their rickety ox. For forty years, the animal has served them faithfully-hauling untold firewood loads and dragging the plow through fertile fields. OLD PARTNER playfully and poetically tells the story of the ineffable bond between Mr. Lee and his ox as their lives wind down in tandem. Rain or shine, hunched and gnarled, Mr. Lee tills, weeds, and harvests, often crouching on all fours like the ox that never leaves his side. The camera lingering intimately on the ox’s kind eyes and creaky bones allows us to sense the depth of this sentient being’s loyalty as he carts Mr. Lee to town at a snail’s pace. In return, Mr. Lee collects special fodder by hand and refuses to spray insecticides for fear of poisoning his beloved beast. Meanwhile, the cheeky Greek chorus, Mrs. Lee, complains incessantly from the peanut gallery. A charming, heartbreaking, existential buddy tale, OLD PARTNER conveys the almost mystical inextricability of humans and nature.
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Run time: 77 min. | South Korea
Director: Chung-ryoul Lee
Language: Korean w/ English subtitles
8 Nov. 4:00 PM Hilo Palace Theater
AJUMMA! ARE YOU KRAZY?
AJUMMA! Are You Krazy? is a zany comedy that follows the misadventures of three Korean drama fanatics. Fueled by their schoolgirl hormones, the hopelessly romantic Ajummas, Judy (Thea Matsuda), the lovable and innocent heroine, Susan (Tessie Magaoay) the raunchy tough one, and Amy (Cari L. Mizumoto) the sassy tart, go on a hilarious journey to try and meet Korean super star Michael Park by stealing his itinerary, breaking into his hotel room, and sneaking on to his music video set. Witty writing, a light-hearted story and a likable cast allow this short film to succeed in taking a humorous look at the K-drama phenomenon and what some ladies will do for a crush.
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Run time: 26 min. | United States, Hawaii
Director: Brent Anbe
8 Nov. 6:30 PM Hilo Palace Theater
STONES
According to legends, Nihipali and Na’iwi are the last of their people on the island. The legend states that they can only come out at night because the sun’s harsh rays would turn them to stone. Nihipali is tired of living alone with her husband and she believes that they should befriend the newcomers to the island. Her husband forbids it. He blames them for their people’s departure. But the loneliness is unbearable for Nihipali and one night she befriends a young girl from the village. They spend the night enjoying each other’s company, but will this truly make her happy?
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Run time: 20 min. | United States, Hawaii
Director: Ty Sanga
8 Nov. 6:30 PM Hilo Palace Theater
THE LYCHEE THIEVES
LYCHEE THIEVES was inspired by a newspaper article about two locals who robbed a lychee farm on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The characters of Arnie and Ethel grow paranoid and territorial when Keoki, a Hawaiian man who picks fruit between jobs, offers to harvest the lychee growing in their yard. Driven by selfish impulses, Arnie fiercely defends the tree from Keoki and their neighbor, Mrs. Chun, by arranging for professional pickers to strip the tree of its fruit as quickly as possible, no matter what the consequences. It falls upon Keoki’s shoulders to break a cycle of long standing fears that governs our daily lives. Lychee Thieves was filmed in August and September on O’ahu.
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Run time: 30 min. | United States, Hawaii
Director: Kathleen Man
8 Nov. 6:30 PM Hilo Palace Theater
HONOKAA BOY
Shot on location in Honoka’a last October, the film revolves around a love-scorned Japanese college student named Leo (Masaki Okada) who travels to Hawaii where he finds work as an assistant projectionist at the Honoka’a People’s Theatre. He meets various people that have an impact on his life, not the least of which being an eccentric master chef named Bee (Chieko Baisho), an elderly woman with a zest for life. One day he meets a beautiful older woman named Mariah (Jun Hasegawa) whom he promptly falls for, leading to unexpected consequences.
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Run time: 111 min. | Japan
Director: Atsushi Sanada
Language: Japanese w/ English subtitles
8 Nov. 8:00 PM Hilo Palace Theater
Festival information
Established in 1981, the Hawaii International Film Festival is dedicated to the advancement of understanding and cultural exchange among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and North America through the medium of film. HIFF is the premier international film event in the Pacific and has won the praise of governments, filmmakers, scholars, educators, programmers and film industry leaders throughout the world. For the discovery and exhibition of Asian and Pacific features, documentaries and short films in the nation, it is a primary source. The festival has premiered such movies as ONCE WERE WARRIORS, THE PIANO, SHINE, SHALL WE DANCE, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Plus, DEPARTURES, a Japanese film, had its U.S. premiere at HIFF in 2008, won the HIFF Audience Award and then went on to win the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
HIFF’s major sponsors include: Regal Entertainment Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawaii, Halekulani, Hawaii Tourism Authority and The VILCEK Foundation.
The 2009 Hawaii International Film Festival was held October 15-25 at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Cinemas. For more information please visit our website at www.hiff.org.
Media Contact:
Lincoln Jacobe, 808.237.3676
Chimaine Pouteau, 808.636.1512
