Editor

The 27th Annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), the premier international film event in the Asia-Pacific region, ended its latest 10-day fall festival which took place from October 18-28, 2007, on a high note. HIFF"s offering of nearly 200 films from 40 countries throughout the world attracted 73,000 viewers, a 5% increase from 2006, with more than 300 delegates in attendance, which was a significant jump from previous years.

Many "firsts" were introduced during this year's fall film festival – more than 7000 votes were cast for the Video On Demand (VOD) Viewers' Choice Award, a project made possible through a partnership between HIFF, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, and Nippon Golden Network where subscribers were able to view and vote for their favorite short film produced by local filmmakers; "American Immigrant Filmmakers on Profile" made its debut, featuring six talented foreign-born artists and their new films through screenings, youth education programs, and free public seminars thanks to the generous sponsorship by The Vilcek Foundation; "Family Fest" section sponsored by Bank of Hawaii brought a variety of films that were enjoyed by film lovers of all ages; and the newly launched HIFF Café offered great food from Creations in Catering along with a relaxed atmosphere for post-screening Café Chats with filmmakers, celebrities, and fellow film lovers.

"Mahalo to all of you for helping to make the 27th Annual Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival our most successful year ever," says Chuck Boller, HIFF's Executive Director. "The increase in attendance is a demonstration of the audience's strong satisfaction with the festival, and people really enjoyed our new features including VOD – video on demand, Family Film Fest, HIFF Café, and our Closing Night party on Hawaii Superferry. We are proud of our strong film program, series, and events but we are even prouder of our sponsors, members, delegates, attendees, staff, and everyone who made this special film festival possible. Thank you all for being part of HIFF"s excellent team."

"It was a fulfilling year, where all of our new sections and programs were great successes," adds Anderson Le, HIFF Director of Programming. "Eat, Drink, Film and the American Immigrant Filmmaker programs in particular, strengthened HIFF"s footprint as a festival of record of the pan-Pacific Rim."

THE 27TH ANNUAL LOUIS VUITTON HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS:
• HALEKULANI GOLDEN ORCHID AWARD for Best Narrative Feature – THE HOME SONG STORIES
• HALEKULANI GOLDEN ORCHID AWARD for Best Documentary Feature – BEAUTIFUL SON (Honorable Mention – KALAUPAPA HEAVEN)
• NETPAC AWARD – OWL AND THE SPARROW
• FILM IN HAWAII AWARD – Hawaii International Film Association
• CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU VISION IN FILM AWARD – Hawaii State Legislature
• CAUSE AND F(X) DREAM DIGITAL AWARD – BROTHER
• HONOLULU MAGAZINE AWARD for Best Short Film – PRETEND (Honorable Mention – I MET THE WALRUS)
• VOD VIEWERS' CHOICE AWARD POWERED BY OCEANIC TIME WARNER CABLE – THE MONKEYBOY FEVER
• PACIFIC PANORAMA AWARD – LAHAINA: WAVES OF CHANGE
• ACHIEVEMENT IN ACTING – Joan Chen
• ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING – Kwak Kyung-Taek
• RISING STAR AWARD – Lee Jun-Ki
• AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD – A LOVE