Film festival names winners of top award
Advertiser Staff
An Indian feature and an American documentary yesterday were awarded the Hawai'i International Film Festival's Golden Maile Award.
"Mr. and Mrs. Iyer," a Hindi love story embracing themes of conflict and hope, won the Golden Maile for best feature. It was directed by Aparna Sen; producers were N. Venkatesan and Rupali Mehta.
"Spellbound," a film tracking eight contestants in the National Spelling Bee, won the Golden Maile for best documentary. It was directed and produced by Jeff Blitz.
Other notable honors:
• Special Award — "Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai" (Hawai'i), Charlotte Lagarde's and Lisa Denker's documentary on surfer Rell Sunn.
• Special Mention Award — "Ogya" (China), directed by Fujiro Mitsuishi.
• NETPAC Award — "Eyes of a Beauty" (China), directed by Guan Hu.
• Eastman Kodak Award for Excellence in Cinematography — Peter Pau, for his exemplary career and embodiment of Eastern and Western styles in his cinematic vision. (He won an Oscar for cinematography in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.")
• Film in Hawai'i Award — Eddie and Myrna Kamae, for their series of films on Hawaiian culture, history and music.
• Aloha Airlines Hawai'i Film and Videomaker Award — "I Scream, Floats and Sundays," produced by Leah Kihara and Leanne Kang Ferrer.
• Blockbuster Video Audience Awards — best feature, "The Maori Merchant of Venice," directed by Don C. Selwyn and produced by Ruth Kaupua; best documentary, "An Untold Triumph," produced by Stephanie J. Castillo and Noel "Sonny" Izon (who also directed); best short film, "Kaho'olawe: The Breath of Our Ancestors," directed by Jackson Bauer and produced by Jacqueline Gregory Langley and Mark Nitta.
• Outstanding Foundation — Louis Vuitton Hawai'i, festival sponsors.
• Corporate Sponsor Award — KBFD-TV.
Correction: "Eyes of a Beauty" (China), directed by Guan Hu, won the NETPAC Award at the recent Hawai'i International Film Festival. "Ogya" (Japan), directed by Fujiro Mitsuishi, won a special mention award. A previous version of this story was incorrect.
