The annual Asian-Pacific film festival offers a hybrid format this year, with screenings and Q&As taking place in theaters, outdoors and streaming online. Expect celebrity appearances, including director Destin Daniel Cretton of Marvel’s new hit, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, alongside actor Simu Liu, aka Shang-Chi himself. With the Hawai‘i International Film Festival presenting close to 200 films both in theaters and virtually, we narrow down the four features for your must-see list. Don’t forget the popcorn. Nov. 4-28, hiff.org
Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai
Famed director Masato Harada presents a Japanese historical film based on the novel Moeyo Ken by Ryōtarō Shiba. The picture follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata, the vice commander of the Shinsengumi, a special police force organized by the military government in Japan’s Bakumatsu period, as he fights against the Meiji Restoration.
I Was a Simple Man
Christopher Makoto Yogi’s second feature film, starring Constance Wu and Steve Iwamoto, will be presented as the HIFF Centerpiece Gala. Shot and set completely on O‘ahu, the movie follows Masao, an elderly man on the brink of death as he’s visited by the ghosts of his past. The poignant tale depicts how age and memory distort the angles of troubled familial relationships.
Steve Iwamoto’s emotional portrayal of Masao in I Was a Simple Man. PHOTO COURTESY OF HAWAI‘I INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Tick, Tick… Boom!
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial feature debut follows a 30-year-old aspiring theater composer as he navigates love, friendship and the pressures of life as an artist in New York City—a story based on Jonathan Larson, the late composer of Rent. With an all-star cast including Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens and Judith Light, this will be a fan favorite.
Catch Andrew Garfield in Tick, Tick... Boom! PHOTO COURTESY OF HAWAI‘I INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Waterman
Dive into a celebration of the life and impact of legendary swimmer and surfer Duke Kahanamoku. The feature-length documentary directed by Isaac Halasima includes filmed interviews, scene reenactments, archival footage and photographs to explore the legacy of the undisputed father of modern-day surfing. Another plus? It’s narrated by none other than Jason Momoa.
Some serious wave shredding in Waterman PHOTO COURTESY OF HAWAI‘I INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
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