COURTESY HIFF "The Home Song Stories" received the Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for Best Narrative Feature.

Hawaii film festival doles out awards to family fare

Family dramas were the winners at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival awards luncheon yesterday, with "The Home Song Stories" and "Beautiful Son" taking the Halekulani Golden Orchid Awards for Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary, respectively.

"Home Song," starring festival guest Joan Chen (who also received this year's Achievement in Acting Award), told the story of a rocky but loving relationship between an aging nightclub singer from Hong Kong and her two children as it plays out in their new home of Australia.

In "Beautiful Son," local filmmakers Don and Julianne King tell of their struggle to come to terms with their autistic son. Paul Cox's "Kalaupapa Heaven" received a documentary honorable mention.

Other award-winning films include "Owl and the Sparrow" (NETPAC Award for Excellence in Asian Cinema), "Lahaina: Waves of Change" (Pacific Islanders in Communication Pacific Panorama Award) and the shorts "Brother" (Cause and F(X) Dream Digital Award), "Pretend" (Honolulu Magazine Award for Short Film, with "I Met the Walrus" honorable mention) and "The Monkeyboy Fever" (Oceanic Time Warner Cable Video-on-Demand Viewer's Choice Award).

The Audience Choice Award winner will be announced Saturday at the festival's closing night at Hawaii Theatre.

All winning films will be re-screened Sunday at the Dole Cannery multiplex. Visit www.hiff.org.