The 2024 Hawai‘i International Film Festival announced awards recently at the Halekulani Hotel.
“Moloka‘i Bound,” Hawaii resident director Alika Tengan’s slice-of-local-life story about a Native Hawaiian man’s efforts to reconnect with his family and his community after spending years in prison, received the Kau Ka Hoku Grand Jury Award and the Made in Hawai‘i Jury Award for best narrative feature.
The 2024 honorees are:
>> Kau Ka Hoku Grand Jury Award: “Molokai‘i Bound” (Alika Tengan, director)
>> HIFF Best Short Film Award: “CHamoru: A Lost Language” (Brian Muna, director)
>> Honorable mention: “Talk to Me” (Jimmy Ming Shum, director)
Pasifika Awards:
>> Best Feature Film: “We Were Dangerous” (Josephine Stewart-Tewhiu, director)
>> Honorable mention: “Standing Above the Clouds” (Jalena Keane-Lee, director)
NETPAC Award:
>> Best Feature Film: “Sister Midnight” (Karan Kandahari, director)
>> Honorable mention: “Ka Whawahi Tonu: Struggle Without End” (Mike Jonathan, director)
Made in Hawai‘i Jury Awards:
>> Best Narrative Feature: “Molokai‘i Bound” (Alika Tengan,director)
>> Best Documentary Feature: “Standing Above the Clouds” (Jalena Keane-Lee, director)
>> Best Made in Hawai‘i Award Short: “The Queen’s Flowers” (Ciara Lacy, director)
BMW Driven Student Award:
>> “Stitches” (Alexander Cleary, director)
>> Honorable mention: “Where Do Butterflies Go When They Die?” (Steven Loya Montoya, director)
HIFF44 Awards Gala Honorees:
>> Halekulani Vision in Film Award: Stanley Nelson
>> Halekulani Career Achievement Award: Justin Marks, Rachel Kondo and “Shogun”
>> Halekulani Maverick Award: Charles Yu and “Interior Chinatown”
>> Leanne K. Ferrer Trailblazer Award presented by Pacific Islanders in Communications: Temuera Morrison
>> Spotlight on Hong Kong — Filmmaker in Profile: Sandra Ng
HIFF44 continues on Maui, Lanai, Molokai and at Waimea and Hilo on the Big Island through Nov. 10. For more information, visit HIFF.org.