Free Seminars Offer the Public an Array of Ways to Get Involved with HIFF
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
HONOLULU, HI (October 1, 2009) –The 2009 Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) isn’t just about screening great movies. HIFF also offers free specialized seminars to the public, with appearances from filmmakers and film industry veterans, to further moviegoers’ understanding of the filmmaking process.
The four informative seminars this year include a discussion with renowned Japanese film critic Donald Richie; a panel discussion and video about Hawaiian history called THE ROYAL GIFT; a candid talk with local industry professionals about the state of the film industry in Hawaii today; and finally, a first-hand account from a filmmaker about how to make movies with little or no budget.
Over 170 films from 36 different countries will be featured at this year’s festival. HIFF’s 2009 program is being held at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters from October 15–25. Tickets go on sale Thursday, October 1st for HIFF Ohana members and Monday, October 5th to the public. General admission tickets are available for $10 or $9 for students, seniors, children and military. Tickets may be purchased in person at HIFF’s box office at 650 Iwilei Road #101 across from Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters or by phone at (808) 548-5905. The film guide is available now online at www.hiff.org. For more information please visit us at www.hiff.org.
SEMINARS
1. Pū`ā Foundation: THE ROYAL GIFT
The Pū`ā Foundation will present THE ROYAL GIFT, the first video in a four-part historic series, as well as a panel discussion with Board President Mark Kawika Patterson, Executive Director Toni Bissen, and commissioned staff Dr. David Keanu Sai and Kaui Sai Dudoit. THE ROYAL GIFT examines Hawaiian society in the years before Kamehameha I up through Kamehameha III. It was developed under the Foundation’s Hawaiian Historical Production Project, which promotes a contextual understanding of the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy. The video will help the panel members convey a deeper and clearer understanding of the historical, cultural, spiritual, economic and political environment surrounding the overthrow and reconciliation.
The Pū`ā Foundation was established in 1996 as part of the apology, redress, and reconciliation initiatives of the United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian people for the Church’s complicity in the overthrow. It seeks to reconcile the past to the present so that as a Hawaii community, a better future can be built. Sponsored by ABC Stores, Hawaiian Electric Company, Servco Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation, and Alexander & Baldwin Foundation.
Saturday, October 24 | 11:00am | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
2. STATE OF THE FILM INDUSTRY IN HAWAII
Join us for a very candid talk with industry leaders in the local film, TV and commercial fields as they discuss their accomplishments and the many challenges they face everyday. The discussion will visit many topics ranging from developing scripts with local/global appeal, nurturing emerging artists, financing in a post Act 221 world, and predictions on the state of the industry in the months and years to come. Sponsored by Bank of Hawaii.
Saturday, October 24 | 12:30pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
3. J.P. Chan: DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB
Have you always dreamed about making movies, but you can't afford the time or money to go to film school? Self-taught filmmaker J.P. Chan shares his experiences in making artistically serious, no/low-budget short films that have played for audiences around the world.
You'll learn how to make movies and get them seen, as J.P. did, with "no experience, no money, and no connections." In other words, you'll learn how filmmakers learned the craft and business before going to film school became the norm: by actually making movies. NOTE: This seminar will be taped for educational purposes.
J.P.'s two-hour workshop is suitable for all ages and levels of experience and includes:
• A screening of his four award-winning short films
• Advice on all stages of filmmaking, including the creative process, equipment, marketing, film festivals, and funding
• Extensive Q&A and participant-led discussion
Sponsored by ABC Stores, Hawaiian Electric Company, Servco Foundation, Morgan Stanley Foundation, and Alexander & Baldwin Foundation.
Saturday, October 24 | 1:30pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
4. NETPAC: A TRIBUTE TO MADAME KAWAKITA
In honor of HIFF and NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) USA's A TRIBUTE TO MADAME KAWAKITA, a special seminar will be held with famed Japanese film critic Donald Richie. He will discuss the international impact of the film selections in the TRIBUTE and how they reflected Japanese culture. Victor Kobayashi PhD, UH Manoa, will moderate this very informative discussion from one of the most respected film critics in the world. (See film listings for RASHOMON, IKIRU, BLACK RAIN, and ZIGENURWEISEN. Admission for these films is free.) Sponsored by NETPAC and ASIA PACIFIC FILMS.COM.
Saturday, October 17 | 3:30pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
Film Synopses (for four films featured in NETPAC seminar)
BLACK RAIN
KUROI AME
The title refers to the radioactive fallout which descended upon the ruined city of Hiroshima after the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Young bride-to-be Yoshiko Tanaka has the misfortune to be visiting
Hiroshima on the day of the explosion, but incredibly, she is unhurt. Unfortunately, her townsmen have been profoundly affected by the "black rain;" over the next five years, the poison in their systems slowly, but surely erodes their souls. Yoshiko's life is shattered as surely as if the bomb had disintegrated her upon impact. Sponsored by NETPAC and ASIA PACIFIC FILMS.COM.
Japan 1989 | Japanese w/ English subtitles | 123m
Director: Shohei Imamura
Producer: Hasao Lino
Cinematographer: Takashi Kawamata
Script: Masuji Ibuse, Shohei Imamura, Toshiro Ishido
Cast: Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shoichi Ozawa
Sunday, October 18 | 2:45pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
RASHOMON
A priest and a woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime -- the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) -- tell their plausible though completely contradictory versions of the story. This landmark film, directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. Sponsored by NETPAC and ASIA PACIFIC FILMS.COM.
Japan 1950 | Japanese w/ English subtitles | 88m
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Minoru Jingo
Cinematographer: Kazuo Miyagawa
Script: Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori
Friday, October 16 | 6:15pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
TO LIVE
IKIRU
IKIRU details the existential struggle of one ordinary man in his desperate search for purpose. Upon learning he has terminal stomach cancer, a low-level government bureaucrat leaves his job of 30
years without a word to find meaning in the year he has left to live. He is completely alone in the world -- his wife is dead, his son is practically estranged, and his co-workers are little more than strangers. Sponsored by NETPAC and ASIA PACIFIC FILMS.COM.
Japan 1952 | Japanese w/ English subtitles | 143m
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Sojiro Motoki
Cinematographer: Asakazu Nakai
Script: Shinobu Hashimoto, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
Cast: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka
Saturday, October 17 | 5:45pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
ZIGENURWEISEN
This tale features the relationship between a Japanese professor of German descent and Nakasago (Yoshio Harada), a former friend he runs into while on vacation. Nakasago has been charged with murdering a married woman who ran away with him. As the two former friends become more and more involved, the professor begins to get a glimpse of Nakasago's odd life, and undertones of witchcraft provide an eerie overlay to the fate of the missing woman. Sponsored by NETPAC and ASIA PACIFIC FILMS.COM.
Japan 1980 | Japanese w/ English subtitles | 144m
Director: Seijun Suzuki
Producer: Genjiro Arato
Cinematographer: Kazue Nagatsuka
Script: Yozo Anaka
Cast: Yoshio Harada, Naoko Otani, Toshiya Fujita
Sunday, October 18 | 6:00pm | Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters
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 will be held October 15-25. Images of the films can be downloaded at
http://picasaweb.google.com/hiff2009images/2009FallFilmImages?authkey=Gv1sRgCOjSudrp5ob2iwE&feat=directlink. For more information please visit our website at www.hiff.org.
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