HIFF – Film For Thought
“HIKAWA MARU” | Hawai‘i Premiere | Japan | Japanese w/English subtitles | 94 min.
From veteran anime director Shunji Oga comes the epic tale of the legendary Japanese ocean liner, the Hikawa Maru. In May...
HIFF – Spotlight on Japan
“OVER THE FENCE” | U.S. Premiere | Japan | Japanese w/English subtitles | 112 min.
Written by Yasushi Sato and Ryo Takada. Directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita.
From Yamashita (“Linda Linda Linda,” “La La La at Rock...
HIFF – Creative Lab
“CHOKE MISREPRESENTATION: ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN IMAGES ON SCREEN” | World Premiere | United States | English | 60 min.
Diversity and inclusion have been hot topics in film and TV this year. A recent study...
HIFF – Spotlight on Taiwan
“AFTER SPRING, THE TAMAKI FAMILY . . . (UMI NO KANATA)” | U.S. Premiere | Japan, Taiwan | Japanese and Taiwanese w/English subtitles | 96 min.
Directed and edited by Huang Yin Yu.
On a warm...
HIFF – Closing Night Film
“YOUR NAME.” | Hawai‘i Premiere | Japan | Japanese w/English subtitles | 105 min.
Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai.
HIFF closes this year’s festival with “Your Name.,” the biggest moneymaking film in Japan. The film...
HIFF – Sound X Vision
“WE ARE X” | Hawai‘i Premiere | Japan, United States | English, Japanese w/English subtitles | 93 min.
Edited by Mako Kamitsuna and John Maringouin. Directed by Stephen Kijak.
From the production team behind the Oscar-winning...
HIFF – Careful What You Pack
“SUMÖ ROAD – THE MUSICAL” | Hawai‘i Premiere | Japan | Japanese w/English subtitles | 25 min.
Written and directed by Ken Ochiai.
Kure, an overweight exchange student from Taiwan, has a hard time fitting in...
HIFF – Fantastic Asia
“SADAKO VS. KAYAKO” | Hawai‘i Premiere | Japan | Japanese w/English subtitles | 98 min.
Written and directed by Koji Shiraishi.
Two ghosts — Sadako (“The Ring”) and Kayako (“The Grudge”) — who each spawned a...
HIFF – Documentaries
“A NEW MOON OVER TOHOKU (TOHOKU NO SHINGETSU)” | U.S. Premiere | Canada | English, Japanese w/English subtitles | 98 min.
Written and directed by Linda Ohama.
A moving story of love, survival and old Japanese...
HIFF – Asian Cinerama: Asian Film Awards Academy Roadshow
“FIRES ON THE PLAIN” | Festival Premiere | Japan | Japanese w/English subtitles | 108 min.
Written and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto.
“Fires on the Plain” follows a soldier, Tamura (Eiji Funakoshi), who, along with hordes...