Twenty Films in April to Whet the Palate for October's Main Event
Executive director Chuck Boller and the organizers for this year's 30th Annual Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) will get the ball rolling with the 13th year of "Spring Showcase"—20 films that will screen at Regal Dole Cannery Stadium theaters, April 16 – 22, 2010. While only a handful of the films have been confirmed for the upcoming mini-festival, two have already been nominated for Oscars this year.
The touted films are "Ajami", from Israel, which is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, and "Most Dangerous Man in America", nominated for Best Documentary Film.
Ajami is an apolitical look at Jews and Arabs living in a multi-ethnic neighborhood, as directed by both Israeli and Palestinian co-directors. The central characters include two brothers who fear assassination, a young Palestinian refugee working illegally to cover his mother's medical expenses, and an Israeli woman and her Palestinian boyfriend.
Additional confirmed films include "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (Sweden) and "A Good Rain Knows" (Korea).
At a recent lunch meeting, Boller recounted many of the significant moments he's experienced at the film festival over recent years. They included introducing Quentin Tarantino to director Katsuhito Ishii of Japan in 1998; the pair eventually collaborated on "Kill Bill", as Ishii provided all the animated sequences for the major blockbuster. Others included Ang Lee's acceptance of the "Vision in Film" award in 1997; Roger Ebert proclaiming HIFF as one of his favorite festivals; and this past year's special events surrounding the "Lost" television phenomenon.
Boller, who reminded us that the fall festival has premiered films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Piano", "Shine" and "Once Were Warriors", added that many Asian-produced filmmakers use HIFF as a testing ground prior to their debut on the mainland U.S.
"We're really the first line of defense for a lot of filmmakers who plan on bringing their movies to America. Many of those films have gone on to receive Academy Awards. And we were the first in the nation to see them," said Boller.
HIFF, founded in 1981, will take place from April 16 – 22 and October 14 – 24, 2010. Visit www.Hiff.org for more information and ticketing.
"We're really the first line of defense for a lot of filmmakers who plan on bringing their movies to America. Many of those films have gone on to receive Academy Awards. And we were the first in the nation to see them." — Boller
