Film festival on tiptoe for Altman's 'Company'

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

2003 Hawaii International Film Festival Presented by Louis Vuitton Honolulu dates: Oct. 30-Nov. 9 Venues: Most films at Signature Dole Cannery Theatres; opening and closing-night films at Hawai'i Theatre; special showings at other spots Tickets: $8 general, $6 HIFF members after basic membership ($50, which includes six tickets), $7 military, students, seniors; movie pass memberships, $250 (includes a pass to all films, filmmaker receptions, award ceremonies) Box office: Signature Dole Cannery Theatres — noon-6 p.m. Oct. 21-29; noon-10:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 30-Nov. 9 for the general public Information: 528-4433 or www.hiff.org Neighbor Islands: Nov. 7-9

His provocative films, including "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," "HealtH," "Nashville," "The Player" and "Gosford Park," add up to an idiosyncratic and inimitable line of work.

Altman's newest, "The Company," about the makings of a ballet company, is the opening-night attraction for the 2003 Hawaii International Film Festival, at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Hawai'i Theatre. It stars Neve Campbell (right) as a ballerina and Malcolm McDowell as the company's artistic director, in a tale of a dancer struggling for success.

Pointing to Altman's independent spirit, HIFF executive director Chuck Boller said, "He's as close as you can get, for our kind of film festival."

Altman has been invited to attend, said Boller, and organizers are awaiting his decision.

Canadian director Denys Arcand's "The Barbarian Invasions" is the closing-night film at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7, also at the Hawai'i Theatre. It is a passionate sequel to his seminal work, "The Decline of the American Empire."

In between, 164 films — including 12 world premieres and 22 U.S. premieres — will be shown, largely at the Signature Dole Cannery Theatres, through Nov. 9.

This year's festival has several new twists:

• It returns to the Hawai'i Theatre for a couple of major films, so that the festival can accommodate a larger crowd. (The Hawai'i Theatre seats 1,400.) "We've wanted to go back there," said Boller.

"But we used to stage films in Waikiki, since our special guests were in Sheraton Hotels, and it was an easy walk over. With the closure of the theaters, we needed a large space, and we think HIFF is a perfect fit for the theater's cultural mix."

• HIFF is planning an opening night celebration on the Fort Street Mall near the Hawai'i Theatre, from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 30. Films will be screened on building walls and posters will be displayed; there will be food and activities geared to appeal to film buffs.

• Signature Dole Cannery Theatres will reserve five of its 18 theaters for HIFF. The largest seats 425, and can be combined with another big hall to seat 850. One of the large theaters will be earmarked for video films.

Two other noteworthy showings:

"Japanese Story," at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Hawai'i Theatre, is HIFF's Centerpiece Gala. Directed by Sue Brooks, the film stars Toni Collette ("Muriel's Wedding, "The Sixth Sense") as Sandy Edwards, an ambitious geologist who baby-sits Hiromitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima), an aloof Japanese businessman, who both find themselves in precarious life-or-death circumstances against the backdrop of the Australian outback.

"The Ride," at 6 p.m. Nov. 1, is a world-premiere surfing saga. It will be shown at Sunset on the Beach at Queen's Surf Beach, Waikiki. It focuses on David Monroe, a 21-year-old professional surfer, and flashes back to the Waikiki of 1911 (think Duke Kahanamoku).

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067.