HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Chinatown’s the place IIFF you love indie films
It's either pronounced eeeeefff or eye-eye-eff-eff, but if it rolls off your tongue -- and that's a big IF -- it's still Hawaii's premiere festival of independent filmmaking. The Island Independent Film Festival, presented by Cinema Paradise, runs Thursday through Sunday in Chinatown, fast becoming the 'hood for Honolulu's art community.
Island Independent Film Festival
Dates: Thursday through Sunday
Place: Next Door, 43 North Hotel St.
Tickets: $10. Cinemaniac All Access pass of $75 includes admission to all films and parties.
Festival parties: Performances by Low Budget Hollatronix, Philadelphia by At Sea, J-Boogie and Dubtronic Science and others; starting at 5 p.m. each day. Cost varies; visit Web site for details.
Call: 953-0002 or visit cinemaparadise.org or whatiiff.com
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According to Festival Director Chris Kahunahana, the films this season were selected to ask audiences "What IIFF?" which is philosophically better than "As IIFF!"
All showings are at Next Door, but alternate showings of many films are being arranged and will be announced "underground-style" at the festival. Check the festival Web site, whatiiff.com, or call 953-0002 for up-to-date information.
Thursday
"Death of a President": Gabriel Range's what-if about an unknown gunman assassinating George W. Bush and the subsequent documentary it spawns. 6 p.m. See review, D1.
"Gitmo": What if filmmakers Erik Gandini and Tarik Saleh were to pay a visit to Guantanamo Bay and interview generals, guards and former prisoners, blended with speeches by Bush, Bin Laden and Donald Rumsfeld? 8 p.m.
"Private:" By Saverio Costanzo and set in the no-man's-land between a Palestinian village and an Israeli settlement, the film follows a family after their home is occupied by an Israeli army patrol. 9 p.m.
Friday
"Next -- A Primer on Urban Painting": Pablo Araena examines the burning question, what if graffiti were legal? Or what if the title means you should lay down a primer coat before spraying graffiti? 7 p.m.
"Mirrorball -- Global Selections": We're talking the coolest music videos of the last year, including Spike Jonze's video for Bjork's "Triumph of the Heart," and Johan Renck's video of The Streets' "Dry Your Eyes Mate." 8 p.m.
"Lady Vengeance": Park Chan-Wook's version of a blaxploitation film, except that no one is black, and the '70s are over, man. What if there's a time warp in Korea? 6 p.m.
Saturday
"The Great Happiness Space -- A Tale of an Osaka Love Thief": Jake Clennell's "remarkably candid" look at the Japanese adult-entertainment industry, which means American congressmen are not invited. 6 p.m.
"Showdown in Chinatown": The Hawaii Film Office challenges filmmakers to produce a piece based on a theme within 24 hours. Monthly winners of past Showdowns will begin a one-week film challenge. 8 p.m.
"COLLAB project": A festival trailer is re-scored live every night by local bands and musicians across multiple music genres from orchestral to hip-hop. 10 p.m.
Sunday
"Youth Media Workshop": Hawaii Film Office and OC16 offer students the chance to fondle state-of-art digital production and post-production equipment, chaperoned by Jon Brekke, creative director of Oceanic Time Warner Cable. The students will create a short feature. Noon.
TBA
Screening times to be announced at the festival:
"Refugee All Stars": By Banker White and Zach Niles, about six musicians from Sierra Leone who are refugees in the Republic of Guinea. They deal with the brutality of civil war there by playing music. What if they played the blues? They got reason.
"When I Came Home": Dan Lohaus' meditation on homeless veterans, ranging Vietnam to Iraq. What if history repeats itself? It has.
George Tahara tribute
Local filmmaker George Tahara has certainly filmed more teenagers running around in malos than anyone in history -- more than 200 films over six decades -- and helped create a sense of Hawaiian history in his short educational films.
A reception will be held with actors from the films, and Tahara's "Hawaiian Legends Photobook" will be available for sale; 7 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Sunday. The films:
"Boyhood of Kamehameha": The king's life, from boyhood to manhood.
"Cannibal Killers": A legend of how warrior chiefs drove off cannibals in the islands.
"Feather Cloak of Kings": A young chief wins the honor or wearing the rare garment.
"Firestick": Pele's brother brings fire to a village.
"Kioni's Poi Pounder": About the utensil-shaped island of Maui.
"Lani and the Sharkman": Adapted from an ancient chant about a dancer and her lover.
"Maui and His Kite": The demi-god aims for the sky
"Waters of Kane": A rather sad story about a monster who helps a blinded warrior, only to be slain by him.
"Street Kids": A tale of urban prostitution and runaways.
"Why Must the Flowers Die?": Boys experiment with glue-sniffing.