HIFF44 Pacific Islander Film Awardees
PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN COMMUNICATIONS CELEBRATES PACIFIC AWARD WINNERS OF 44TH HAWAI‘I INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
- Made in Hawai‘i Short: THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS
- Made In Hawai‘i Narrative Feature: MOLOKA‘I BOUND
- Made In Hawai‘i Documentary Feature: STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS
- HIFF Best Short Film Award: CHAMORU: A LOST LANGUAGE
- HIFF Pasifika Award: WE WERE DANGEROUS
- Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award: Temuera Morrison
HONOLULU, HI (October 15, 2024) – Following the announcement of the 44th annual Hawai‘i International Film Festival (HIFF) awardees, Pacific Islanders in Communications recognizes the Pasifika voices who garnered several of the festival’s award categories. At a private event at the Halekulani Hotel, HIFF honored several Pacific Islander storytellers and their craft within Oscar-qualifying categories, some receiving cash prizes and industry honors.
MADE IN HAWAI'I Film Awards
Now in its eighth year, the Made in Hawai‘i Film Program highlights select fiction, non-fiction features, and short films that are made by Hawai‘i-based filmmakers or showcase locally-based stories. The Made In Hawai‘i films are deemed dynamic and bolster the independent film scene within the Hawaiian Islands. In past years all selected films in this category are eligible for one of two awards, Best Made in Hawai‘i Feature and Best Made in Hawai‘i Short, with cash prizes totaling $10,000 made possible by the Nichols Family Film Fund. For the first time, the jury awarded this prestigious honor to three films: a feature-length narrative, a feature-length documentary, and short film. Through HIFF’s designation as the only Academy Awards®-qualifying Festival in the State of Hawai‘i, the Best Made In Hawai‘i short film is eligible to qualify for the Oscars.
MADE IN HAWAI‘I SHORT
The Made In Hawai‘i Short Jury recognized THE QUEENʻS FLOWERS, directed by Ciara Leinaʻala Lacy as the Made In Hawai‘i Best Short Film, which is an Oscar qualifying award. Inspired by a true story, this animated short adventure is made for children. Set in 1915 Honolulu, the story follows a Native Hawaiian girl named Emma as she makes a gift for the last monarch of Hawai‘i, Queen Lili‘uokalani. PIC is proud to be a co-production partner and funder of THE QUEEN’S FLOWERS through its Shorts Fund initiative and continues to support Lacy’s impactful work highlighting Hawaiian stories.
MADE IN HAWAI‘I NARRATIVE FEATURE
This year’s Best Made In Hawai‘i Narrative Feature is MOLOKA‘I BOUND, directed by Alika Tengan; a film based on a wayward Hawaiian man’s journey to reconnect with his family and acclimate to a normal life after years of incarceration. In trying to prove himself worthy of his family and native heritage, Kainoa’s story is one of reconciliation and redemption.
MADE IN HAWAI‘I DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Best Made In Hawai‘i Documentary Feature is STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS, directed and produced by Jalena Keane-Lee alongside Producer Amber Epinosa-Jones and Executive Producer Erin Lau, a 2025 Indigenous Cinema Alliance Fellow. This powerful documentary made its Hawai‘i debut showcasing the movement to protect Mauna Kea through the intergenerational stories of women from three Native Hawaiian families who defend the sacred mountain. STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS follows teacher and community organizer Pua Case and her two daughters—artist-activists Hāwane Rios and Kapulei Flores—who have been active advocates against the Thirty Meter Telescope since 2010. PIC is proud to have funded the short-film version of this feature, which premiered at HIFF39, and continues to support this team through the Indigenous Cinema Alliance (ICA) Fellowship Program.
HIFF BEST SHORT FILM AWARD Presented by Hawaiian Airlines
This category honors short films and underscores the importance of establishing a filmmaker’s tone, style, and creative vision. Often proof of concepts or progenitors to a feature film, short films can stand alone as their own distinct stories, as shown through the hundreds of thousands of submissions sent to film festivals across the globe. Films in the HIFF Best Short Film category are also eligible for Oscar qualification.
This year’s HIFF Best Short Film Award winner is CHAMORU: A LOST LANGUAGE directed by Brian Muña; a filmmaker who set off to reconnect with CHamoru, the language native to the people of Guam. In this search for self-identity, he examines his culturally American upbringing and the importance of passing on the CHamoru language to his sons. Along the way, he meets CHamoru language advocates and youth who are revitalizing their Indigenous language, giving him hope for future generations of CHamoru speakers.
This film is one of eight short documentary films that make up HOMEGROWN: A PART OF/APART FROM, a series produced by Firelight Media. For Season Two of this production, Firelight Media collaborated with Pacific Islanders in Communications, Black Public Media, and Latino Public Broadcasting which led to the world premiere at HIFF44. The films in this series were created by emerging BIPOC filmmakers living in the U.S. territories, Hawai‘i and their diasporic communities, focusing on stories grappling with issues of sovereignty, agency, and negotiating what it means to be at once “a part of and apart from” the United States.
PASIFIKA AWARD Presented by HIFF and Pacific Islanders in Communications
HIFF in partnership with Pacific Islanders in Communications presents the third-ever Pasifika Award for Best Feature Film to celebrate the authentic and high-quality narrative and documentary features across the Pacific region. This competition jury, comprised of film professionals of Pacific Islander descent also grants the winning film a cash prize of $5,000.
The 2024 Pasifika Award Winner is WE WERE DANGEROUS, directed by Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu. Set in 1954 New Zealand, WE WERE DANGEROUS follows a trio of girls who rail against the system of a reform school. STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS also received an honorable mention.
LEANNE K. FERRER TRAILBLAZER AWARD - TEMUERA MORRISON
Presented by Pacific Islanders in Communications, the Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award is given to a cinema artist of Pacific Islander heritage who broadens the scope of Pacific Islander stories onto the world stage, producing award-winning work in independent and global cinema. A true trailblazer, honoree Temuera Morrison, has been selected for this award as he creates and participates in works that align with PIC’s mission to support, advance, and develop Pacific Island media content and talent that results in a deeper understanding of Pacific Island history, culture, and contemporary challenges. Past recipients include Taika Waititi, and Heperi Mita on behalf of Merata Mita, Keala Settle, Kerry Warkia and Cliff Curtis.
New Zealand-born Temuera Morrison is a multi-faceted entertainer and long-time international cultural icon. Morrison is deemed one of the nation’s foremost actors and is a leading proponent of Māori culture and performance. Born in Rotorua, of Te Arawa and Ngati Maniapoto Ngati Rarua descent, Morrison’s membership in a famous entertainment family ensured an early interest in performance art. At home and internationally, his career breakthrough came in 1994, playing Jake “The Muss” Heke in the groundbreaking movie ONCE WERE WARRIORS, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Morrison also secured the honor of Best Actor from the New Zealand Film Awards for his performance in WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN HEARTED? Some of Morrison’s most iconic roles include Jango Fett and Boba Fett of the Star Wars Universe, Chief Tui in Disney’s MOANA and upcoming MOANA 2, and Tom Curry in the Aquaman movies. He co-starred in KA WHAWHAI TONU: STRUGGLE WITHOUT END, which broke box office records in New Zealand this past summer. His most upcoming projects are CHIEF OF WAR, THE WRECKING CREW, and THE BLUFF.
Pacific Islanders in Communications honors the contributions of all Native and Indigenous filmmakers in HIFF44. Fans are encouraged to continue to attend film screenings on Neighbor Islands until November 10, 2024, and vote for their favorite Narrative Feature, Documentary, and Short Film in the Audience Awards, presented by Hawai‘i News Now. The Audience Awards will be announced after the festival concludes. For more information on HIFF44 honorees, screenings, and more, visit www.hiff.org.
ABOUT PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN COMMUNICATIONS (PIC):
Established in 1991, Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) is the only national public media organization that supports media content and its makers to work together to promote a deeper understanding of Pacific Islander history, culture, and contemporary issues that define our communities. As part of the National Multicultural Alliance, PIC addresses the need for media content that reflects America’s growing ethnic and cultural diversity by funding independently produced films and providing over 200 hours of innovative content by and about Pacific Islanders to American public television including its flagship series Pacific Heartbeat. PIC defines “Pacific Islander” as one whose ancestors were the indigenous people of Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Australia. For more information about Pacific Islanders in Communications, visit www.piccom.org and follow us on social media: facebook.com/piccom | Instagram: @picpacific
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Categories: Film Festival