Pacific Island Film Festival

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Pacific Island Film Festival

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Patron Pass
US$500
Patron Passes include two (2) tickets to: - Opening Ceremony with VIP experience - Closing Gala with VIP experience - All special events - All Feature and Short Film Blocks
Festival Pass
US$275
Festival Passes include one (1) ticket to: - Opening Ceremony with VIP experience - Closing Gala (no VIP experience) - All special events - All Feature and Short Film Blocks
Closing Awards Gala
US$150
CLOSING NIGHT: PIFF NYC FILMMAKER AWARDS GALA Sunday, October 20 Ascent Lounge Columbus Circle Taking place at The Ascent Lounge Columbus Circle, PIFF NYC’s closing night presentation will include a filmmaker awards gala, fundraiser and rare New York City performance from Hawai’i’s iconic singer-songwriter Paula Fuga. As a Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Paula has collaborated with the likes of Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, and Ben Harper. Sponsored by Anheuser-Busch.
Dinner and a Movie
US$100
SPECIAL PRESENTATION: DINNER AND A MOVIE Friday, October 18 noreetuh The festival kicks into high gear with a two-part presentation: a collaborative prix fixe dinner showcasing modern Hawaiian cuisine at Michelin-recognized noreetuh followed by a screening of coming-of-age film INKY PINKY PONKY. INKY PINKY PONKY Aotearoa (New Zealand) | 60 minutes | Damon Fepulea’i, Ramon Te Wake A young fakaleitī (transgender), Lisa, gets involved with rugby captain, Mose, while navigating school life and overcoming intolerance and prejudice to find acceptance and happiness.
Film and Workshop Pass
US$75
FULL DAY: SATURDAY PROGRAMMING: Changemakers Talk and Film Screenings CHANGEMAKERS TALK WITH ANGELA LAPRETE PRESENTED BY ICAN Saturday, October 19 National Museum of the American Indian Recently celebrated in Forbes as one of six visionaries shaping the Hawaiian filmmaking scene, film producer Angela Laprete, in partnership with ICAN will host a distinguished roster of film and entertainment industry artists from Hawai’i who are on the cutting edge of creative activity. Following the workshop, three films centering the rich legacy of Hawaiian storytelling will be screened for free to the public. HŌKŪLE’A: FINDING THE LANGUAGE OF THE NAVIGATOR USA | 40 minutes | Ty Sanga In 2006, cultural anthropologist Wade Davis sailed with master navigator Nainoa Thompson to learn about the art of wayfinding. Fifteen years later the two explorers contemplate the mysteries of traditional navigation and a future inspired by the language of the navigator. THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS Kingdom of Hawai’i | 11 minutes | Ciara Lacy, Daniel Sousa A magical take on a true story, The Queen’s Flowers is an animated short adventure for kids that follows Emma, a Native Hawaiian girl in 1915 Honolulu, as she makes a special gift for the last monarch of Hawai'i, Queen Lili’uokalani. KŪKINI Kingdom of Hawai’i | 26 minutes | Paula Fuga In 1790 Hawai’i, an elite warrior must leave his family behind when sent on a deadly mission to report on the bloody war waged by Kamehameha against Maui. When captured by the enemy, he is miraculously saved by someone who has a message for him of their own. FILM SCREENINGS AT VILLAGE EAST BY ANGELIKA Saturday, October 19 Village East by Angelika KANIELA: THE DANNY KALEIKINI STORY USA | 79 minutes | Pawel Nuckowski, Michael Lum Kaniela: The Danny Kaleikini Story, is a biographical documentary based on the life of the man known as Hawa’i’s Ambassador of Aloha, as told in his own words. MAURI USA | 71 minutes | Zaya Benazzo, Maurizio Benazzo The film is an intimate, visually stunning testament to a land and a people who have survived removal, exploitation and colonization—and the healing ways that are part of Māori ancestral knowledge. RED, WHITE, AND BRASS New Zealand | 85 minutes | Damon Fepulea’i When Maka and Veni fail in getting tickets for the most important game of their lives, they decide to form a traditional Tongan marching band, just so they can go to the game. SHORTS THE ALI’I KINGS USA | 27 minutes | Christine Kunewa Walker Set in the 1960s, a road trip from Utah to Tikiland, California, unveils painful revelations for a Hawaiian-German Mormon family. DEAR ALOHA USA | 15 minutes | Cris Romento Displaced Native Hawaiians reveal how aloha sustains them amidst distance, loss, and longing. Meanwhile, back in Hawaiʻi, locals grapple with the history of colonization that has Hawaiians disappearing from their homeland. DUSK USA | 9 minutes | Marcus Goh In this cutting-edge experimental multi-media short film, tell a tragic story of an orphan teen struggling to care for his younger brother. FAIR USA | 10 minutes | Taylor Gruver Based on the true story of one woman’s fateful day as a hired party princess at the mansion of her high school nemesis. IN EXILE Marshall Islands | 11 minutes | Nathan Fitch A film that explores the US nuclear legacy in the Pacific through the lens of members of the Marshallese community in Arkansas. KAI HALI’A (SEA OF MEMORY) USA | 9 minutes | Angelique Kalani Axelrode In a realm of abstracted and embodied memory, a diasporic Kanaka traces a genealogy of identity through kūpuna (ancestors), ‘āina (land), and ke kai (ocean). LAST LIGHT USA | 16 minutes | Koa Bayani A film crew in Hawai'i fights to get the final shot of a months-long production...thankfully, there's ten minutes of light left and the director hasn't finished writing the scene. LEA TUPU’ANGA / MOTHER TONGUE Aotearoa | 17 minutes | Vea Mafile’o A young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage lies about her Tongan language skills to get a job. Out of her depth, she must find a way to communicate or risk her patient’s life. MARAHORO Chile | 17 minutes | Sofía Rodríguez Pizero A 15-year-old Rapa Nui young boy who has a rough time balancing his father’s wishes for him to become a Rapa Nui folk artist and his own calling from the voices of the sea. NGAU KAHUA Chile | 3 minutes | Loreto Vaikapua Gómez Campos, Catalina Baltazar, Macarena Mathias After feeling homesick for Rapa Nui, Tai immerses himself in virtual reality to relive his childhood on the Island. After remembering that nothing is actually real, he decides to leave the simulation and focus on the present. FESTPAC 2024 USA | 20 minutes | Richard Branscombe The 2024 Festival of the Pacific Arts (FestPac) is held in Hawai’i as a symposium for the islands to gather and share in culture, economy, and community. This is a collection of interviews that reflects on the cultural impacts and futures of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. OLA USA | 4 minutes | Marcus Goh A Hawaiian teen navigates life and reflects on what his kūpuna has done for him. ONLY IN AOTEAROA - WĀHINE EDITION Aotearoa | 22 minutes | Scotty Cotter, Maruia Jensen Short, sharp, comedy skits told from a distinctly Māori perspective, with real-time conversations between characters that mirror an issue or common experience that affects Māori in a funny, feel-good fashion. SEARCH FOR HAWAIKI Aotearoa | 19 minutes | Fredrick Jozef Hoani Teteira Pokai After years in a psych ward, Fable is released into the care of his estranged whānau only to rediscover his need to find inner peace. SINA MA TINIRAU Fiji | 9 minutes | Vilsoni Tausie Hereniko When a prince is cursed to become an eel and has to win the love of a beautiful woman to become human again, he gifts her with his body in the form of a coconut palm tree in a seductive display. SNACK USA | 9 minutes | Lauren To'omalatai On a night out with friends, Jess briefly opens up about her grandfather’s death. At home, in the kitchen looking for something to eat, she startles her grandmother and the two share a sweet moment through food and song, remembering the man they’ve both lost. SON OF SAMOA SAMOA | 10 minutes | Laman Time Son of Samoa takes you through the journey of Tatau. Where Laman discusses his disconnection from family, community and wavering relationship with himself. TRADEWINDS USA | 23 minutes | Mighty Island Tradewinds in an intimate portrait and examination of the life of CHamoru jazz pianist, Patrick Palomo, whose musical style has combined CHamoru lyrics with the sounds and melodies of contemporary and classic jazz music. TWO BREATHS USA | 17 minutes | Kateryna Kurganska After a man-made disaster decimates an evergreen island, a stranded 11-year-old girl must find the tenacity to leave behind her home with the help of an unlikely friend. WHO’S THAT GIRL? USA | 8 minutes | Josh Tatofi In a vibrant 1950's high school set in Hawaii, the Sadie Hawkins dance is fast approaching, and as the leader of the jocks, known as "The Mynah Birds," and the leader of the greasers, vie for the attention of the charismatic leader of the popular girls, "The Puas."
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