"The Coolbaroo Club" is one of the documentaries being screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival, which starts today.

And all this despite a 50 percent cut in state funding - from $200,000 to $100,000 - in an annual budget of $600,000 with in-kind contributions worth another $400,000, said Christian Gaines, festival director.

Special guests this year include actor Nora Aunor, from the Philippines and one of five jurors selecting the 1996 Golden Maile Award. Other guests include Iranian actress Nikki Carimi, star of "Pari"; Fred Elmes, cinematographer for such classics as "Eraserhead" and "Blue Velvet;" film critic Roger Ebert; and possibly, noted Korean film director Im Kwok Taek whose work has been singled out for tribute.

Making its HIFF debut will be the "Film Technology Forum," a four-day conference on the effects of technology on filmmakers' creative process.

There's the special section, "Comedy in Film: East and West," and a discussion led by Ebert, "Blow by Blow with Keaton and Chan," a close look at Jackie Chan's films as they compare to the work of American stunt/comedy actors at the beginning of the film era.

This also is the first year of the HIFF Ohana Peoples' Choice Award that allows any HIFF member to vote for the one film they believe deserves a special award.

The renovated Hawaii Theatre makes its debut as a major venue for screenings, featuring the Australia films "Shine," "Love and Other Catastrophes," and "The Quiet Room," "Haru" and Cardiogram" (Japan), "Temptress Moon" (Hong Kong), "Pari" (Iran) and "A Hot Roof," (Korea).

Each year the festival, the only statewide event of its kind in the United States, offers 65,000 seats to the public.

All festival films are free to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. But members of the HIFF Ohana are guaranteed seating to all films with advance reservations. HIFF Ohana memberships start at $50.

The general public is admitted to screenings after Ohana members are seated. Latecomers, even with tickets, will not admitted if the theater is full.

For film schedules, Ohana membership or more information, call 528-3456 or toll free from the neighbor islands at 1-800-752-8193.

The Hawaii International Film Festival opens on Oahu Nov. 8 through 15. The general public will be admitted for free if seats are available; only HIFF Ohana may get tickets for advance seating. Films are not rated. Information: 528-FILM (528-3456).

Hawaii Theatre

Shine
A classical pianist struggles with mental illness. Impressionistic, musical film features Armin Mueller-Stahl, Lynn Redgrave and Sir John Gielgud. At 6 p.m.

Love and Other Catastrophes
Two film students cope with love, school and a new apartment in this screwball comedy. At 9 p.m.

Varsity Theatres

The Emperor's Shadow
A musician and boyhood friend of the first emperor of China longs for the princess. At 10 a.m.

Gone, Gone, Forever Gone
A Buddhist nun serves as the sole link between her brothers, split by Vietnam's turmoil and politics. At 12:30 p.m.

A Single Spark
A Korean tries to understand another Korean who committed protest suicide in 1970. At 3 p.m.

Floating Life
A family from Hong Kong searches for its place in Australia. At 6:30 p.m.

Sleepy Heads
Young, illegal immigrants, happy to be free from Japan's traditions, make their way through New York City in this madcap comedy. At 9 p.m.

Academy Theatre

American Alternatives
Shorts include a Japanese father's reaction to his son's death, a romantic comedy, a black comedy about HIV, and a discovery by an inventor-turned-plumber. At 5:30 p.m.

Bones of the Forest
Unconventional, lyrical film introduces native people, ex-loggers, environmentalists and the opposition while observing "time" in the natural world. At 8 p.m.

Tenney Theatre

The Champagne Safari
Film uses footage from a 1934 expedition in an exploration of the life of an eccentric millionaire. At 6 p.m.

When Mother Comes Home for Christmas
Documentary follows a Sri Lankan woman forced to leave her three children to find work in Greece. At 8 p.m.

Hawaii IMAX

Antarctica
Portrait of the highest, driest, coldest continent shares its mystery, danger and beauty. At 9 and 10 a.m.

Movie Museum

Daanawaak
Autobiography of a young Cambodian refugee in the United States.

AKA Don Bonus
Documentary on Tlingit Indian leader Austin Hammond. Shown together at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and at 3, 5, 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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SATURDAY

Hawaii Theatre

Haru
Romance blossoms when Japanese boy meets girl on the Internet. At 10 a.m.

Cardiogram
A shepherd boy with a defective heart clashes with city children when he is sent to Kazahkstan's capital for treatment. At 1 p.m.

Temptress Moon
Their master's death sparks a power struggle among members of an old, wealthy clan in 1911 China. Starring Gong Li. At 6 p.m.

The Quiet Room
A child whose parents' relationship falls apart vows never to speak aloud. At 9 p.m.

Aikahi Theatres

Kids Return
Two teens unmotivated by Japan's economic prowess hang out at a coffee shop with the Yakuza. At 10 a.m.

Varsity Theatres

Once Upon a Time or Kilsotum
Thai latch-key kids move to fix their situation in "Time," 9:30 a.m. at Varsity I. At 10 a.m. at Varsity II, "Kilsotum," a feature, explores the 40-year gulf in families separated by the Korean War.

Some Kinda Love
Carefree trio becomes a love triangle, requiring "real" adulthood. At 12:30 p.m.

Man of the Story
A writer, sheltered from birth, encounters first-hand the changes disrupting India. At 3 p.m.

The Case of the Cold Fish
Clever satire mixes brilliant slapstick with a murder investigation on a provincial island. At 5:30 p.m.

Mahjong
Small-time Chinese hoods meet a French woman looking for her lover. At 8 p.m.

Behind the Forbidden City
A police officer interrogates a sensitive young writer arrested at a park where homosexuals meet. At 10:30 p.m.

Academy Theatre

Genealogy
A Korean man resists changing his name as dictated by Japanese troops. At 11 a.m.

Time of the Barmen
Commercial farming threatens the traditional lifestyle of three goatherders. At 1:30 p.m.

The Coolbaroo Club
Documentary traces the achievements of the club, Aborigines' positive response to white oppression. At 3:30 p.m.

Sand to Celluloid
Six Aboriginal shorts tell the stories of a homicide investigator, a pair of cowpokes, a protester with the Aboriginal Resistance and children. At 5:30 p.m.

The Darien Gap
A young man finds a major obstacle to his dream of living among the giant sloths of Patagonia. At 8 p.m.

Tenney Theatre

Father Damien

Happy Birthday, Tutu Ruth

The Samoan Heart
Documentaries about the Belgian priest who helped lepers in Hawaii; a Hawaiian woman with 90 years of heartfelt memories; and two Western-trained artists. At 2 p.m.

The Voyage Home
Documentary of Hawai'iloa's journey from Seattle to Juneau. At 3:30 p.m.

Makua: To Heal the Nation

Kalo Pa'a O Waiahole
Documentaries about a Native Hawaiian settlement declared illegal by the state and the struggle over water rights in Windward Oahu. At 4:45 p.m.

Bring Barbara
Chinese-American gay man introduces his parents to his alter ego. At 6:30 p.m.

The Lemon Tree Billiards House
A young pool hustler plays a match with a mobster (Ray Bumatai). At 7 p.m.

The Story of Wang Laobai
Documentary relates a year in the life of a rural Chinese couple. At 8 p.m.

Hawaii IMAX

The Dream Is Alive
Walter Cronkite narrates an insider's look at the U.S. space program. At 9 and 10 a.m.

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SUNDAY

Hawaii Theatre

A Chinese Odyssey, Part One
Updated, kung fu version of the epic quest of a priest transporting Buddhist scriptures from India to China, and the supernatural disciples who protect him from demons. At 10 a.m.

A Chinese Odyssey, Part Two
A return to Memory Lane results in a battle over destiny. At 12:30 p.m.

Pari
An Iranian student in spiritual crisis is obsessed with a mysterious book. At 3 p.m.

A Hot Roof
Black comedy-drama begins when 10 women rescue a woman badly beaten by her husband. At 6 p.m.

Festival
A Korean writer returns home for a three-day funeral. At 9 p.m.

Aikahi Theatres

Village of Dreams
Twin brothers play and fight in the tranquil Japanese countryside. At 10 a.m. Nov. 10.

Varsity Theatres

Dark Night of the Soul or Sopyonje
A Sri Lankan businessman serves on the jury for a trial involving a former servant in "Dark Night," 10 a.m. at Varsity I. At 9:30 a.m. at Varsity II, a family of wandering musicians practices traditional Korean music.

Sunset at Chaopraya
Young Thai lovers meet on the eve of World War II. At 12:30 p.m.

19th April
The anniversary of a man's death forces his widow and daughter to come to terms. At 3 p.m.

Haru
At 7 p.m.

Kids Return
At 9:30 p.m.

Academy Theatre

My Father's Garden

Sparrow
A university professor takes charge of the family farm with success; postcards from her archaeologist father fires a child's imagination. At noon.

When Mother Comes Home for Christmas
At 2 p.m.

Champagne Safari
At 4:30 p.m.

Life, Death and Baseball
The director examines her sister's favorite pastime and how her family continues to feel the teen's death. At 6:30 p.m.

Private Wars
Poetic narrative of the director's search for his missing father. At 8 p.m.

Tenney Theatre

Troublesome Creek
The filmmaker's family works against the odds to keep its farm in Iowa. At 4 p.m.

Bones of the Forest
At 6:30 p.m.

My Father's Garden

Sparrow
At 8:15 p.m.

Punahou's Luke Auditorium

Bring Barbara
At 5:15 p.m.

The Lemon Tree Billiards House
At 5:45 p.m.

Father Damien

Happy Birthday, Tutu Ruth

The Samoan Heart
At 6:15 p.m.

The Voyage Home
At 7:30 p.m.

Makua: To Heal the Nation

Kalo Pa'a O Waiahole
At 8:30 p.m.

Hawaii IMAX

Pilialoha
Two boys from different countries and times form an unlikely friendship. At 9 and 10 a.m.