A content, unmotivated 29-year-old ignites a toxic relationship. The origin story of shaka. A glimpse at the life of the Ambassador of Aloha. A look at Israeli occupation in the West Bank of Palestine before October 7, 2023. Delinquent girls plot their escape from an abusive reform school. Three kids band together to climb up a mountain.
These are the subjects of just some of the films featured in the 44th Hawai’i International Film Festival. Taking place on Oahu as well as the neighboring islands, the festival brings together a wide array of films from Hawai’i itself, from across the U.S., the Pacific Islands, Asia, and other parts of the world.
The stories selected and incorporated into each iteration of the festival are, more often than not, infectious with intrigue and wonder. These highlights as featured in this year’s lineups are no different, and are worth checking out as they continue their journeys around the world:
Chaperone (dir. Zoë Eisenberg)
Saved by the technicality of her suitor being of legal age, this story of an ambition-less 29-year-old pursuing a relationship with a high school track star would have otherwise been unnerving to watch. However, how their toxic dynamic is portrayed makes for an intriguing approach. You can’t help but feel sympathetic for the comfortably content Misha – even when she starts making several reckless decisions. There’s just something about the direction, writing, and performances that create that effect somehow, and even though not everything is resolved by the end, maybe it doesn’t have to be.
Shaka, A Story of Aloha (dir. Alexander Bocchieri)
It’s a documentary with a simple enough premise: What is the origin story of the infamous Hawaiian hand gesture, shaka? Over the course of finding the answer, the film dives deep into what it represents for so many people over the decades; whether it be cultural identity, connection, or as commonly summed up, to “hang loose.” Director Bocchieri weaves together an engaging tapestry of a culturally specific, yet universally recognized gesture, all while exploring various aspects of the history of the islands; like its surfing culture, its politics, and even how the Japanese diaspora may have had a role.
Kaniela: The Danny Kaleikini Story (dirs. Michael Lum, Pawel Nuckowski)
Directors Lum and Nuckowski have created an honestly encompassing look at the life and legacy of the man best known as the Ambassador of Aloha. Through interviews with Kaleikini himself and some of his family members and friends, nothing is held back from painting the portrait that made up who he was; from his humble beginnings, to his wandering eye, and a tragedy that no parent should endure. In just as many broad strokes are the looks at how he became a locally and globally beloved performer, his love for other people, and how he utilized that love to give back to the community.
No Other Land (dirs. Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballel)
If there’s anything to take away from this documentary is that the terror that the world has been witnessing in Palestine this past year did not start last October. Set in the occupied West Bank from 2019 to last fall, the realities of living under Israeli occupation unfold through the eyes of a journalist, as he bravely documents the erasure of Masafer Yatta – even at the risk of being arrested or worst by the hands of the Israeli Defense Force. A collaboration between Palestinian and Israeli activists, it’s an honest look at what the people there have endured, and with the film ending as abruptly as it does is a grim reminder that the story is, sadly, far from over.
We Were Dangerous (dir. Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu)
I heard about this film well before I knew it was included in this year’s lineup for HIFF. From the trailer alone, it poses to be a good one, and in many ways, it is; as it has one constantly on the edge of their seat, cheering these rebellious girls on, in a time when speaking Māori was frowned upon and the word of the Bible was the standard. But by the end, the film left me wanting more, and that’s due in part to both the rather short runtime, and also this feeling of unsatisfactory with how it ends, as it could have been a lot stronger. Nitpicks aside, the performances, writing, and direction all around are what makes We Were Dangerous one to watch.
The Mountain (dir. Rachel House)
This is another title I was already aware of before knowing it would be included in HIFF’s lineup, and it was one to note, especially as the directorial debut of Rachel House. Her experience coaching child actors came in hand, as the performances from the three young leads was nothing short of moving, hilarious, and overall leagues beyond other actors of their age and above. Knowing that House also co-wrote the film meant a lot in bringing forward the subject of biracial identity, for despite cancer patient, Sam, never knowing her Māori father, is able to connect with her roots anyway by making the climb up Mount Taranaki. It’s a beautifully executed film that has me watching in anticipation on what else is to come from the heaps of people involved in making it happen.
