Kadowaki Kōhei’s animated feature “We Are Aliens” won the Kau Ka Hōkū (Shooting Star) Award at the 46th Hawai’i International Film Festival. The prize was presented at an awards reception held Nov. 1 at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikīkī and recognizes an international filmmaker’s first or second feature.
The film, which premiered at Cannes, follows a childhood friendship that falls apart after an apparently minor incident and explores its consequences over three decades. The jury praised Kadowaki’s use of hand-drawn animation, rotoscoping and naturalistic dialogue, as well as the film’s depiction of childhood cruelty and the effects of memory. “The Seoul Guardians” received an honorable mention.
Jordan Manley’s “The Navigator” won the Pacific Award for best feature, while Justyn Ah Chong’s “The Man and the Tree” received the Pacific Award for best short and was named best Made in Hawai’i short. The latter award places the film in line for Oscar qualification. Zilla Barbosa’s “Making the Line” was selected as the best Made in Hawai’i feature.
The festival’s HIFF Best Short Film Award, also Oscar-qualifying for international shorts, went to the Australian drama-thriller “Faceless,” directed by Fraser Pemberton and William Jaka. Zou Jing’s Chinese film “A Girl Unknown” won the Netpac/USA Award from 12 nominees.
Other Made in Hawai’i recognitions went to Aukai Lagiri’s “Kukulu,” which received an honorable mention, and Ty Sanga’s “Lahaina: Voices of Change,” which earned honorable mentions from both the Made in Hawai’i and Pacific Award juries.
Festival audiences chose Sung Kang’s “Drifter” as their favorite narrative feature, Frank W. Chen’s Taiwanese documentary “Beyond the Smiles: Yani Tseng” as their favorite documentary and Lauren Luke’s “Sons Are Not Earthbound” as their favorite short.
Kang was also honored at the festival’s Oct. 29 gala with the Halekulani Maverick Award. Best known for playing Han in “The Fast & the Furious” franchise, he wrote, directed, produced and stars in “Drifter,” about a janitor who reconnects with a community through competitive drifting.
Ke Huy Quan received the Halekulani Golden Maile Career Achievement Award. Quan began his acting career in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies,” later returning to the screen in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” for which he won an Oscar for his performance as Waymond.
The gala’s other honorees included Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson, who received the Halekulani Legacy Award; actor Luciane Buchanan, honored with the Halekulani New Vanguard Award; and Native Hawaiian screenwriter Bryson Chun, recipient of the Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award.
HIFF46 opened Oct. 21 at the Hawaii Theatre. Following its Honolulu program, the festival is scheduled to continue with screenings in Kapolei, Maui, Moloka’i, Hawai’i Island and Lāna’i from Nov. 3 through Nov. 15.
Sources: Variety.