:: HIFF flash pass ::

All the latest news from the Hawaii International Film Festival - but faster, and more intense.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

:: hard candy ::



HARD CANDY premieres tomorrow night.

Our friends at Cinematical conducted a great interview with director David Slade and writer Brian Nelson at the just completed SXSW.

Also, for all you Ellen Page fans out there, this film was a launching pad for her soon-to-be Big Hollywood career! She's playing the role of Kitty Pryde in the new X-Men movie! Not bad for a young lass from Nova Scotia, the home of chanteuse Anne Murray. Hey, I'm a big fan!

Friday, March 31, 2006

:: look both ways ::

LOOK BOTH WAYS premieres tomorrow.

The Australian Catholic Film Office proclaimed LOOK BOTH WAYS the 2005 Film of the Year. Interestingly, Sue Brooks' JAPANESE STORY, an LVHIFF Centerpiece Presentation, was also named Catholic Film of the Year in 2003. Who knew?

The film, a mix of animation and live action, is set over a hot weekend. Meryl imagines disaster coming from every direction - train crashes, man-eating sharks, baby-eating killer whales...and then there's Nick.

There are two good interviews with Sarah Watt here and here.

They've got a blog, too!

:: zozo ::

ZOZO screens tomorrow afternoon at the Dole Cannery.

ZOZO is the official Swedish entry for the Academy Awards(R) Foreign Language Film category and is the third feature film from Josef Fares, director of the hilarious spoof and LVHIFF favorite KOPPS.

Together with Black African/Swedish hip hop star Timbuktu, Fares, who is half-Lebanese, half-Swede is pushing aside old concepts of what it means to be French or German or Swedish.

ZOZO's soundtrack is exquisite. The composer Adam Nordén was awarded, at the Swedish Film Gala Guldbaggen, a Golden Ram Award for his work with the music for the film. As Film Music notes, "Nordén carefully crafts his universe with a sad piano, a soft duduk, the occasional guitar, even a choir, and a toned down string ensemble. The resulting landscape is one of desolation but also of painful beauty."

:: the bow ::

THE BOW screens tomorrow, Saturday, April 1 at 9:15PM.

Kim Ki-duk, the most popular and successful Korean film director in the U.S. has made 12 films...but THE BOW marked his first invitation the Cannes Festival, where it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section.

Here's a great interview with Kim, who discusses his five years in the Korean Marine Corps, and his upcoming projects: a movie whose main character is a gun, Buddhist religious war in Asia, and a movie ab out a woman who tries to abandon her beautiful look.

An here's an interesting review by Kirk Honeycutt, 2003 LVHIFF Golden Maile Juror and Hollywood reporter correspondent, on the twin pursuits of Kim Ki-Duk: allegorical storytelling and silent movie. techniques.

:: star bulletin write-up ::

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin has new reviews of The Bow (***1/2), The Gift (***), Letter from an Unknown Woman (***), District 13 (***) and Rules of Dating (***1/2).

Thursday, March 30, 2006

:: more film reviews ::

The Star Bulletin has a glowing review of the Japanese punk rock/schoolgirl comedy Linda Linda Linda.

The S/B also ran a great review of Iron Island in today's print edition, not yet available on-line. Here's J. Hoberman's Village Voice review instead! My favorite quote:

"Part Pentateuch, part Animal Farm, Iron Island is closer to Makhmalbaf faux naïveté than Kiarostami modernism."

:: rush-line screenings as of thursday ::

The following films have gone to the rush line!

March 31, 6:45 PM Tsotsi
March 31, 9:30 PM Lady Vengeance
April 1, 3:15 PM Soong Sisters

The rush line starts one hour before showtime! Unclaimed seats will be sold to the rush line on a “first come, first served” basis fifteen (15) minutes before screening time.

No tickets for Tsotsi? Try Zozo (Sweden's submission to the Oscars for Best Foreign Film) or Iron Island (from the Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Golden Peacock Award at the Goa International Film Festival).

Left out for Lady Vengeance? As we mentioned in an earlier post, try The Proposition or Hard Candy!

Can't see the Soong Sisters? Minsan Pa from the Philippines is a smart, critically-acclaimed melodrama...and the producer will be at both screenings. Letters from an Unknown Woman is Xu Jingle's gorgeous romantic period piece.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

:: on the radio ::

Catch Hawaii Public Radio's interview with Anderson Le, HIFF's Director of Programming, tomorrow, Thursday, March 3o!

KHPR, 88.1 FM at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
KIPO, 89.3 FM between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m.

The interview will be posted on-line Friday at HPR or at Reporter Noe Tanigawa's site.

We'll also be on-the-air live, 8:00 a.m. Thursday morning on 90.3 FM KTUH! DJ Mano Lopez, from A Fistful of Ganas, will have ticket giveaways for 20 CENTIMETERS!

DJ Nocturna will have ticket giveaways for THE PROPOSITON on KTUH this Saturday night, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., on a Feast of Friends.

:: spring showcase write-ups ::

Check out these Spring Showcase overviews in our fine local newspapers:

:: rush for LADY VENGEANCE ::

LADY VENGEANCE (March 31, 9:30 PM) is now a rush line only screening!

Ticket holders please arrive early: 15 minutes prior to screening time for rush line shows, unclaimed seats will be made available to the rush line on a “first come, first served” basis. The rush line will form one hour before showtime.

Interested in more stories of wrath, wild justice and revenge? Check out these films:

THE PROPOSITION (2005, Australia) An outback western set in the 1880s in Australia complete with bushrangers, Irish outlaws, aboriginals...and a score by Nick Cave. Straight from the Sundance Film Festival!

HARD CANDY (2005, USA) A teenager traps a would-be pedophile stalker in this thriller, also from Sundance!