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Which movie is worth watching?

The first weekend of the silver anniversary of the film fest kicks off in earnest. Here's what you can find on screen through Sunday, plus short reviews of some select films.

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The 25th Annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival » Today through Oct. 30 » Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theatres » Hawaii Theatre » The Doris Duke Theatre » Honolulu Academy of Arts » $7 to $9 » Call 528-4433 or connect to www.hiff.org. Program guides & schedules available at all Starbucks locations

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"Unsalted" Screens 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Dole Cannery Tim Ryan

Filmmaker and surfer Vince Deur of Grand Haven, Mich., has proved in this beautiful and finely edited film that wherever there's a large body of water somewhere, sometimes there will be surfable waves, and there'll be surfers to ride them, regardless of obstacles.

"Unsalted" is part surf odyssey, travelogue, and road trip around the five Great Lakes where we meet the hardy surfers, some of whom have surfed these frigid, stormy waters for more than 40 years.

The documentary represents a 15-year mission for Deur who, following a near-fatal lake surfing experience, decided to produce the film. He gathered historical footage spanning four decades of lake surfing.

The lakes' wave quality are guaranteed to exceed viewers' perceptions. Equally surprising is the quality of surfing by riders on short and longboards who must improve their abilities in the narrow window of fall and winter when hyperthermia is a threat and some breaks have boulder-size chunks of ice in the lineup.

As surfers suit up in thick wetsuits, temperatures hover around 20 degrees. They then head to snow-covered beaches where onshore winds frequently hit 20 to 30 knots. On days like this, surfers can only withstand 15 minutes in the water to catch at least one wave before escaping to shore. "Unsalted" is a testimony to the spirit and love of surfing which all wave riders subscribe to.

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Hawaii Panorama 6: "Pele O Ka Foodmart" Screens 3:45 p.m. Saturday at Dole Cannery John Berger

Raylene Gomes is committed to a psychiatric ward after she attempts to burn down the local supermarket where she works. Raylene claims she's Pele and fighting a battle to the death with the pig god, Kamapua'a.

Obviously she's a nut case, right? But if Raylene is delusional, why didn't the fire burn her?

That's the mystery confronting a world-weary police psychiatrist in this feature from Michael Wurth. It's also one of the best locally created dramas in recent memory. Wurth's deftly balanced yet unpredictable story is brought to life by an excellent cast.

Margaret Jones gives a delicately nuanced performance as Raylene. Jones' best work comes when her facial expressions and tone of voice suggest the ebb and flow of the battling personalities within her, between the goddess and a mortal woman trapped in an abusive relationship.

Wurth avoids making "Pele O Ka Foodmart" a simplistic screed on how wrong domestic violence against women is. Raylene tells Dr. Araki, regarding her marriage, that "I got the whole tita thing going on. ... I like to push his buttons."

The dialogue is also spiced with one-liners and caustic exchanges that are funny without turning this compelling drama into a farce.

That the outcome of Dr. Araki's investigation remains uncertain, even through the final scene, doesn't detract from the film's strengths.

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Fishbowl" Screens at Sunset on the Beach at Waikiki Saturday, as part of tribute to the late director Kayo Hatta, and as part of Hawaii Showcase 4, 8 p.m. Oct. 27 at Dole Cannery Tim Ryan

Award-winning director Kaya Hatta's last film before her untimely death in July is a charming snapshot of local coming-of-age that combines the director's deep-seated affection for our culture, language and teenagers.

Set in the Hawaii of 1975, "Fishbowl" was adapted from the novel "Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers" by noted local writer Lois-Ann Yamanaka.

It's Halloween, and 13-year-old Lovey Nariyoshi feels like an outsider. Lovey is regularly bullied into silence by her nemesis, the seemingly perfect Lori Shigemura, who runs with a group of popular girls who call themselves the Rays of the Rising Dawn. Rather than fight back, Lovey escapes into fantasy, transformed into the bold and courageous girl whom she wishes she could be in real life.

After some Halloween hijinks with her effeminate friend Jerry, Lovey helps Jerry with a traumatic writing assignment in class. When class monitor Lori interrupts them, Lovey rips into Lori in the film's most effective and dramatic moment that not only illustrates Lovey's maturity, but the emotional impact and beauty of the expressiveness of the pidgin language.

The film's simple quality is the work of a master who knows all too well how to squeeze every bit of honesty from novice actors and capture the essence of our local culture.

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More recommendations

"Keane"
Screens 9:30 p.m. Friday at Dole Cannery

"Ushpizin"
Screens 4 p.m. Friday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Dole Cannery

"Innocent Voices"
Screens 3:15 p.m. Friday at Dole Cannery

"Kamikaze Girls"
Screens 6 p.m. Saturday and 9:15 p.m. Sunday at Dole Cannery

"The Squid and the Whale"
Screens 9:45 p.m. Saturday at Dole Cannery

"Godzilla: Final Wars"
Screens 9 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Dole Cannery

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HIFF Weekend Schedule

Friday

Doris Duke Theatre

3:30 p.m.: "Diary of a Provincial Girl"
6 p.m.: "Daughters of the Wind"
8:15 p.m.: "State of Fear"

Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theatres

3 p.m.: "Dalecalarians"
3:15 p.m.: "Innocent Voices"
3:30 p.m.: "Beyond Our Ken"
3:45 p.m.: "Panaghoy: The Call of the River"
4 p.m.: "Ushpizin"
6 p.m.: "Sunflower"
6:15 p.m.: "Cavite"
6:30 p.m.: "State of Mind"
7:30 p.m.: "One Nite in Mongkok"
7:45 p.m.: "Paradise Now"
8 p.m.: "Beauty Remains"
9 p.m.: "About Love"
9:15 p.m.: Music Video Showcase
9:30 p.m.: "Keane"
9:45 p.m.: "Highway Courtesans"
10:15 p.m.: "Shutter"
10:15 p.m.: "Paradise Girls"
11:59 p.m.: "The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai"

Saturday

Doris Duke Theatre

1 p.m.: Polynesian Environmental Program
3:30 p.m.: "The New Oceania"
6 p.m.: Polynesian Power Program

Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theatres

Noon: "Romantico"
12:15 p.m.: Shorts Showcase: As Not Seen on TV
12:30 p.m.: "Hinokio"
1 p.m.: "Princess Raccoon"
1:15 p.m.: "Electric Shadows"
1:30 p.m.: "American Fusion"
3 p.m.: "The Dictator's Cut"
3:15 p.m.: "Unsalted"
3:30 p.m.: "Tetsujin 28"
3:45 p.m.: Hawaii Showcase: "Pele O Ka Foodmart"
4 p.m.: "Season of the Horse"
6 p.m.: "Kamikaze Girls"
6:15 p.m.: "The Dying Gaul"
6:30 p.m.: "Paradise Now"
7:30 p.m.: "What's Wrong with Frank Chin?"
7:45 p.m.: "Red Doors"
8 p.m.: "Prime"
9 p.m.: "Godzilla: Final Wars"
9:15 p.m.: Shorts Showcase: Twilight Zone
9:30 p.m.: "I Am a Sex Addict"
9:45 p.m.: "The Squid and the Whale"
10:15 p.m.: "Funky Forest"
10:15 p.m.: "One Day in Europe"

Note: "Picture Bride" and "Fishbowl" will show at Sunset on the Beach at Waikiki at 6 p.m.

Sunday

Doris Duke Theatre

Toei Studio Films Showcase -- "The White Snake Enchantress" (1 p.m.), "Galaxy Express 999" (3:30 p.m.) and "Street Mobster" (6 p.m.)

Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theatres

Noon: "Tetsujin 28"
12:15 p.m.: "Sisters in Law"
12:30 p.m.: "Godzilla: Final Wars"
1 p.m.: "Mongolian Pingpong"
1:15 p.m.: "Little Brother"
1:30 p.m.: Secrets of the Island: An Insider's Look at the Phenomenon of "Lost" panel
3 p.m.: "Chinese Restaurants: On Three Islands"
3:15 p.m.: "One"
3:30 p.m.: Shorts Showcase: Lo-Fi Cinema
3:45 p.m.: "Beauty Remains"
4 p.m.: "Sa-kwa"
6 p.m.: "Only the Brave"
6:15 p.m.: "The Fall of Fujimori"
6:30 p.m.: "Ushpizin"
7:30 p.m.: "Late Bloomer"
8 p.m.: "Kekexili: Mountain Patrol"
9 p.m.: "Hari Om"
9:15 p.m.: "Kamikaze Girls"
9:30 p.m.: "Sad Movie"
9:45 p.m.: "Shutter"
10:15 p.m.: "Ashura"
10:15 p.m.: "The Wayward Cloud"