The
Hawaii International Film Festival (
HIFF) is a
film festival held in the United States state of
Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by
Jeannette Paulson Hereniko, led by Chuck Boller, Esq. from the late 90s through 2013, and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks. It also features two smaller festivals, a one-week festival in the Spring known as the "Spring Showcase" or the "Spring Fling" and a three-day Korean Film Festival in August called "K-Fest." HIFF is the premier international film event in the Pacific and has won the praise of governments, filmmakers, scholars, educators, programmers and film industry leaders throughout the world. For the discovery and exhibition of Asian and Pacific features, documentaries and short films in the nation, it is a primary source. The festival has premiered such movies as
A Leading Man,
Once Were Warriors,
The Piano,
Shine,
Shall We Dance,
Y Tu Mama Tambien and
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The Hawaii International Film Festival is the only film festival that screens films across an entire state, with screenings in
Honolulu,
Waikiki, and
Kaneohe. The festival also has encore screenings of films on the islands of
Maui,
Kauai, and the
Big Island.