Screening Southeast Asia at the Hawai’i International Film Festival
The Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) will begin on November 4th and end on November 14th, 2021.
Box Office opens October 15th for HIFF OHANA Members and October 18th for the General
Public.
To access the full schedule of films, go here
Below are the list of Southeast Asia films screening at the HIFF film festival this year:
Cambodia
KARMALINK (ជាតិក្រោយ)
DIRECTOR: Jake Wachtel
YEAR: 2021
RUN TIME: 102 Minutes
LANGUAGE: English, Khmer, with English subtitles
ONLINE Access Window: November 4, 2021 – November 28, 2021
KARMALINK is a buddhist science-fiction film set in the near-future that centers around the exploration of past lives with a boy, Leng Heng, at the center of it all. With director Jake Wachtel at the helm, viewers are taken on a visually-stunning expedition alongside Leng, exploring the techno-philosophic world of rebirth.[Kanani Lyons]
Myanmar
MONEY HAS FOUR LEGS (ခြေလေးချောင်း)
DIRECTOR: Maung Sun
YEAR: 2020
RUN TIME: 98 Minutes
LANGUAGE: Burmese, with English subtitles
ONLINE Access Window: November 4, 2021 – November 28, 2021
MONEY HAS FOUR LEGS is a sardonic satire of life in modern Myanmar, one of the poorest countries in the world and one of the hardest hit by COVID-19. Shot before the February 2021 military coup d’état that deposed democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, crippled the country’s economy and left millions of people on the verge of starvation, MONEY HAS FOUR LEGS was shot under strict censorship conditions and can be seen as a veiled allegory for life under military rule. Since the film’s release, its writer and producer Ma Aeint has been arrested by the military, making its story even more pressing for the world to see [Duncan Caillard]
Philippines
THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS
DIRECTOR: Dante Bosco
YEAR: 2020
RUN TIME: 98 Minutes
LANGUAGE: English
Showtime Dates: November 13, 2021
Time: 2:30 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Kahala
Showtime Dates: November 20, 2021
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Ka‘ahumanu
THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS is an intergenerational Fil-Am comedy that is sweet, at times raunchy, and full of heart. From cockfights to adultery, and finding new (and old) love in unexpected places, each of the brothers finds themselves in different situations that will ultimately challenge their beliefs on love, family, and culture, all leading up to a climactic family wedding! Undeniably fun, filled with hijinks and some truly jaw-dropping gags. [Anderson Le]
WHETHER THE WEATHER IS FINE
Kun maupay man it panahon
DIRECTOR: Carlo Francisco Manatad
YEAR: 2021
RUN TIME: 104 Minutes
LANGUAGE: Tagalog, with English subtitles
Showtime Dates: November 14, 2021
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Kahala
Online Screening
Showtime Dates: November 14, 2021
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: watch.hiff.org
ONLINE Access from HAWAI’I ONLY
Director Manatad satirizes the absurdity of disaster and the theater of government aid provided to Tacloban in Typhoon Haiyan’s wake, as well as the role of religion, superstition, and pop culture in spreading fear – or hope. The film is a marvel of production design, and its visual flair is backed up by equally impressive performances from its three leads. It all adds up to one of the most ambitious, provocative, and oddly touching films of the year. [Emerson Goo]
For more information about this movie, go here
Singapore
TIONG BAHRU SOCIAL CLUB
DIRECTOR: Bee Thiam Tan
YEAR: 2020
RUN TIME: 88 Minutes
LANGUAGE: English
ONLINE Access Window: November 4, 2021 – November 28, 2021 (USA ONLY)
Drenched in color and faux nostalgia like a Singaporean Wes Anderson dystopia, TIONG BAHRU SOCIAL CLUB visualizes a world that has commodified and commercialized every form of leisure and self-care. It mines many of the technologies we use to manage our connected lives-digital wellness apps, wearables, smart home assistants, curated subscription services and social media feeds-as a source of deadpan comedy. Ah Bee soon discovers that despite the best efforts of microchips and men, happiness is never really guaranteed. [Emerson Goo]
Thailand
DIRECTOR: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
YEAR: 2021
RUN TIME: 136 Minutes
LANGUAGE: English, Spanish, with English subtitles
Showtime Dates: November 5, 2021
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Kahala
Showtime Dates: November 13, 2021
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Kahala
Shooting outside of Thailand – in faraway Colombia – for the first time in his career, Apichatpong Weerasethakul makes his English- and Spanish-language debut with Memoria, co-winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Character-driven, unlike Weerasethakul’s previous films, Memoria challenges and enriches the director’s way of making movies. Weerasethakul weaves his signature serene narrative style into a carefully designed land- and soundscape that captures the elusive genius of the locus with precise, perfect simplicity. [TIFF]
Vietnam
ALONG THE SEA (海辺の彼女たち)
DIRECTOR: Akio Fujimoto
YEAR: 2020
RUN TIME: 88 Minutes
LANGUAGE: Japanese, Vietnamese, with English subtitles
Showtime Dates: November 5, 2021
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Kahala
Showtime Dates: November 7, 2021
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Consolidated Theatres Kahala
ALONG THE SEA follows three Vietnamese women in their early 20s, Phuong, An, and Nhu. They moved to Japan to work as technical trainees. When they decide to escape their workplace, where their passports have been confiscated, they become illegal migrants in the country. A broker, based in a quiet fishermen village, helps them to find a shelter and a new job in a small fish factory. An unflinching portrait of the life of migrant workers in Japan, ALONG THE SEA is a breakout success from newcomer Akio Fujimoto.