Posted on: Thursday, October 28, 2004
HIFF winners include student film
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Chalk 1 1/2 up for the University of Hawai'i's Academy for Creative Media.
"Steve Ma'i'i," a short film by ACM student Kaliko Palmiera, received a Blockbuster Video Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival, the festival announced yesterday.
The film chronicles the life of Palmiera's father, a seminal figure in the local music scene and the Hawaiian renaissance of the 1970s. "Steve Ma'i'i" was shown Sunday as part of a package of student works.
The award is an affirmation for a program that has had more than its share of ups and downs in just under two semesters of existence.
Film festival audiences also singled out "Kamea," directed by ACM instructor Jennifer Akana-Sturla, for best short film.
"Kamea," completed as part of Akana-Sturla's graduate work at the USC film school, tells of a young female surfer guided by the spirit of Duke Kahanamoku.
"Gettin' Square," an Australian comedy starring festival guest David Wenham ("The Lord of the Rings"), received the audience award for best feature film.
The festival yesterday also announced its First Hawaiian Bank Golden Maile Awards, selected by a jury that included Wenham, Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung ("Hero") and film critic Emanuel Levy.
For the second year in a row, a Japanese film won a Golden Maile for best feature film.
Katsuhito Ishii's offbeat "Taste of Tea," about an eccentric family that includes a hypno-therapist, two generations of animators, and a young girl stalked by a giant image of herself, played to a sold-out audience at Signature's Dole Cannery 8 on Saturday. (The Oscar-nominated "Twilight Samurai" took home the award last year.)
The Australian film "Mr. Patterns," about an aboriginal art movement, received a Golden Maile for best documentary.
The jury also presented a special award to the South Korean film "And Thereafter," about a Korean war bride.
Other awards:
• LVHIFF Award for Achievement in Acting: Maggie Cheung • Eastman Kodak Award for Excellence in Cinematography: Allen Daviau • Film in Hawaii Award: Brian Keaulana and the Hawaiian Water Patrol • Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema Award: "Rewind" (with special mention to "PEEP TV Show") • Cades Schutte and the Cades Foundation Hawaii Film & Videomaker Award: "Silent Years"
